Latest news with #MuseumoftheGreatPatrioticWar
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
The big lesson to be learnt from World War II
My mother, aunts and uncles all had stories to tell about those years, one thing we learnt is that war benefits nobody but arms merchants. A woman walks past WWII-era artillery guns at the colonnade of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on October 31, 2019. Picture: Alexander Nemenov / AFP Growing up, I could not avoid becoming swept up in the stories of World War II. My uncle from Cape Town was captured at Tobruk in Libya and spent four years in a German-prisoner-of-war (POW) camp; my father experienced the Blitz in London and signed up for four years with the Royal Air Force (RAF), mainly fighting against the Japanese. My mother, my aunts and uncles all had stories to tell about those years. Long before the advent of the Internet, I devoured all the books I could find about the war. I marvelled at British Battle of Britain hero Douglas Bader, who lost his legs in a flying accident in the 1930s, but went on to bully his way back into a cockpit, commanding RAF squadrons and later getting shot down and interned in a POW camp. I learned, too, about South African fighter pilot 'Sailor' Adolph Gysbert Malan, absorbing his experiences in the Battle of Britain and later over Europe, before finding out years later, that my mother had met him after the war when she was a volunteer for the 'Torch Commando' – a group of liberal whites who started one of the first fightbacks against apartheid. ALSO READ: Echoes of Nazism still haunt the modern world Even now, I can put together an accurate timeline of events both in Europe and in the Pacific theatre, but I have realised that the predominance of Western sources – newspapers, radio and movies – mean I had a slanted view of who did what in that conflict. Ignorant Americans like to tell the Brits and the French that 'if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French', implying they liberated Europe from Nazi control. And while the D-Day landings did mark a significant gain for the Allies, the fact that the Germans were now fighting on two fronts meant their days were numbered. In reality, it was the people of the Soviet Union – not only Russians, but Ukrainians and assorted other 'socialist republics' – who shed the most blood in the war and who played perhaps the decisive role in defeating Adolf Hitler. Without their resistance and ultimate victory at Stalingrad, the punishing massive tank battle at Kursk and their relentless drive from the east in 1944/45, it would have been far more difficult to bring Germany to its knees. ALSO READ: Indian WWII veteran, 97, wins pension battle That, of course, is not to discount the suffering and grit of the people of the rest of Europe – and the UK, particularly, which was heavily battered during the Luftwaffe air war campaign of 1940/41 – who have every right to mark the 80th anniversary of end of hostilities this week. The old alliances of the war years, though, are gone for good. It doesn't seem as though 'hands across the water', which encapsulated US-UK relations during the war, means as much now, given the bullying from the Trump White House. My father seldom talked about his experiences other than a comment once that 'war is a waste'. He always respected the suffering of my uncle whose time in a POW camp saw him lose all his toes and later, back in civvie street, when booze softened those memories, he lost his marriage and his health. My father said little when he saw me conscripted as a soldier, although he must have worried. When my son was born, I vowed I would never, as the Ballad of the Green Beret admonished, 'put silver wings on my son's chest'. If we learn only one thing from World War II, it should be that war benefits nobody but arms merchants. NOW READ: Love at any age: WWII veteran, 100, to wed in France
Newsweek
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Putin Pushing Russian Troops Into Deadlier Advances During Peace Talks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russia is throwing troops into operations but its advances are slowing amid high losses, however Vladimir Putin is ignoring these diminishing returns as he looks for battlefield gains to pressure Ukraine in ceasefire talks, says the Institute for the Study of War. The Washington, D.C. think tank said so far this year, an average 99 Russian troops were being lost for every square kilometer of territory gained—much higher than the 59 casualties per square kilometer from between last September and December. Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment. Russia's President Vladimir Putin tours the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum, at Poklonnaya Hill in western Moscow on April 30, 2025. Russia's President Vladimir Putin tours the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum, at Poklonnaya Hill in western Moscow on April 30, it matters The ISW said the troop numbers Moscow is throwing into attacks show that, regardless of U.S.-led peace talks and President Donald Trump's ambition for a peace deal, Putin is still committed to seizing all of Ukraine and undermining NATO. Although Trump can point to a minerals deal with Ukraine struck this week, the U.S. has warned that it would walk away if peace negotiations did not bear fruit soon. However, the ISW assessment shows that Kyiv's forces are effectively fending off Russian attacks and one military expert has told Newsweek that the Ukrainian front line is not about to collapse, thanks in part to Kyiv's drone capabilities. What to know Russia's front line gains have slowed in 2025 while enduring losses even greater than in the final four months of 2024, according to the ISW's Friday update. It calculated that so far this year, citing Ukraine's figures of personnel losses, Russia had gained 1,627 square kilometers (628 square miles) in Ukraine and Russia's Kursk oblast where Kyiv staged an incursion last August at a cost 160,600 casualties—or 99 per square kilometer. By comparison, between September and December 2024, Russian forces gained an estimated 2,949 square kilometers (1,138 square miles) at the cost of 174,935 casualties, or an average of 59 casualties per square kilometer taken. The think tank said the high numbers reflect how Russia is deploying "low quality" troops to front line units that hindered complex operations to make quick advances. But it also showed Putin wanted to leverage further battlefield, pressure Ukraine in ceasefire and peace negotiations and force Ukraine's collapse. This gives the U.S. the opportunity to leverage Russia's vulnerabilities for a stronger negotiating position against Putin, according to the ISW. The think tank noted how U.S. Vice President JD Vance's comments on Fox News that the war will not end soon suggest the Trump administration is considering stepping back from intensified mediation efforts to end the war. This week, the Financial Times reported that European and Ukrainian officials feared Trump was on the brink of walking away from peace negotiations and may use minor progress in talks as an "excuse" to say his job is done. Zev Faintuch, head of research and intelligence at security firm Global Guardian, told Newsweek that the U.S. walking away would hurt Ukraine less than one might expect, at least in the short to medium turn. He said Ukraine's front isn't about to collapse and its domestic drone production and its drone corps have shown that the situation is less desperate in the short-term than it may appear. Kyiv's European allies will be able to step in with many in-demand munitions and with intelligence sharing, he added. However, what Ukraine stands to lose are missiles, specifically long-range precision strike and surface-to-air missiles which would make defending the skies of the major cities more difficult and allow Russia to have more efficient supply lines closer to the front, said Faintuch. What people are saying Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Friday: "Russian forces are currently sustaining a higher casualty rate per square kilometer gained than in Fall 2024." U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Friday "It's not going to end any time soon" and it's "going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are." Zev Faintuch, senior intelligence analyst at security firm Global Guardian: "The Ukrainian front isn't about to collapse. Ukraine's indigenous drone production and its drone corps have time and time again shown analysts the situation is less desperate in the short-term than it may appear." What happens next With a deal in Ukraine seemingly no closer, senior U.S. officials remain skeptical Putin has eased his intransigence even if there is a peace deal may resume the war and try to seize more Ukrainian territory, CNN reported.
