Ukraine will fall within days

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, few expected them to successfully defend themselves.

On talk shows, political scientists and the military prophesied that Kiev would fall quickly.

"For the West, Ukraine is lost," commented political scientist Johannes Varwick.

And General Erich Vad, longtime advisor to Angela Merkel and a sought-after expert on German television, announced: "I think it's only a matter of days or a few hours until the matter is militarily settled."

Livia Gerster

Editor in the politics of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Nor did the federal government seem to expect Ukraine to be able to withstand Russian superiority.

This is probably one of the reasons why she hesitated to send weapons to Kyiv.

But the Ukrainians taught the world better.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained in the capital and addressed his people in daily video messages full of courage and determination.

The Ukrainians have been defying the rockets for ten months now.

Day after day, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting at the front, pushing back Russian troops.

Kyiv was never conquered and even Kherson is free again.

We'll never shake hands again

All sorts of experts have predicted the end of the handshake in the corona pandemic.

Sociologists and philosophers painted the picture of a gloomy post-corona world in which people only see each other as biological weapons.

Virologists called the handshake an “outdated custom that no longer has a place in a society that believes in the germ theory.”

Even the top coronavirus adviser to the US government, Anthony Fauci, said: "I don't think we should ever shake hands again."

But an old custom cannot be shaken off that easily.

Since ancient times, people have stretched out their hands to show that they are coming with good intentions.

Even the Neanderthals are said to have shook hands, even if they grabbed it much harder with their long thumbs than people today.

Thumbs change, the need for closeness remains.

What are three years of a pandemic compared to 400,000 years of human history?

It's getting cold and dark in Germany's homes

Anyone reading the headlines this year would have thought we would all be freezing this winter.

Politicians constantly gave tips on how to save gas.

Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, a "supporter of the protective acid mantle of the skin", recommended replacing the shower with a washcloth.

Former Federal President Joachim Gauck exaggerated the whole thing to "freezing for freedom".

The editorial network in Germany prepared for "legally ordered freezing", the "Berliner Zeitung" asked: "Do we freeze to death in winter?" The gas crisis was then to be followed by an electricity crisis.

"Habeck and the traffic lights deliberately risk a blackout," said Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.

The Association of Cities also warned of an overload of the power grid in the event that “the 650,000 fan heaters sold go on line” because no more gas comes through the lines.

So it threatened not only to get cold, but also to get dark in Germany's apartments.

But despite all the gloomy predictions, 2022 ends on a mild note.

The gas storage tanks are well stocked, the Germans are saving.

They probably don't even need a washcloth.