The flames have engulfed approximately 150 hectares of vegetation, and authorities have mobilized hundreds of rescuers, military personnel and engineers. The fire broke out in the area of a former military range, where hundreds of unexploded shells and other ammunition are buried.

Due to the risk of explosions, the intervention teams cannot penetrate and are forced to operate from a distance of one kilometer, while the services specialized in neutralizing ammunition constantly monitor the situation. Also, due to the danger, firefighters cannot intervene either from the air with tanker aircraft or helicopters.

Authorities warn that high temperatures, drought and increasing wind may favor the spread of flames, and extinguishing efforts could last several days.

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“Russia wants to rebuild its empire at any cost, not the Soviet Union, but the empire. This is demonstrated by the series of articles and research they are conducting, which show that Russia can only exist as an empire and that there is no other possibility for Russia’s existence,” said Igor Botan.

Igor Boțan also drew attention to the way in which the Moscow regime resorts to reinterpreting history in order to legitimize its actions. “It is no coincidence that in 2020 Putin published an article justifying Nazi Germany’s actions in starting World War II on the grounds that Germany had been humiliated after World War I by the Treaty of Versailles,” said Igor Botan, permanent expert on the project.

Regarding the current state of the conflict, Botan explained that Russia has shifted from its initial plan of a quick victory to a strategy of exhausting its opponent. According to Igor Boțan, the presence of resources and the maintenance of a dictatorial regime in the Kremlin create conditions for the war to drag on, with no clear prospects for an end.

“From the very first days of the war, it was said that Russia’s goal was to destroy Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Vladimir Putin said that Russia has nuclear weapons, and nuclear blackmail is the new element. Russia’s strategy was based on the fact that the West is decadent, that the democratic West cannot act in concert because of democracy, and that a dictatorial regime like Putin’s can make decisions in a fraction of a second. And Russia, which has material and human resources, can withstand a war of attrition. From the outset, Putin did not count on a war of attrition. They were counting on Ukraine falling in a matter of weeks or months. All these things taken together show that there are no optimistic prospects for ending this war. We are in a war of attrition, and Russia can afford it because it has the resources,” explained Igor Botan.

The public debate on “Today’s lessons from the 1938 Munich Agreement” is the 54th edition of the series “The impact of the past on the processes of confidence-building and peace.” The IPN Agency is conducting this series of debates with the support of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.

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