Russia’s War on Ukraine—One Year On

One year ago, on Feb. 24, 2022, the world changed. In the bitter chill of that morning, Russian artillery and air strikes began pummeling Ukrainian cities. And Russian tanks and troops—tens of thousands of troops—started pouring across the borders into Ukraine.

The plan by Vladimir Putin was to quickly conquer Ukraine the way he had taken the nation’s Crimea nine years earlier. He expected little Ukrainian resistance, a rapid surrender from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a fast victory for Russia. But here we are one year later: Zelenskyy is still in Kyiv, the Ukrainians are still fighting with resolve and they are fighting with more and more backing from nato and other countries.

This backing was clear in a visit to Kyiv last week by United States President Joe Biden. His visit was followed by a major speech by nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said, “Putin must not win. That would show that aggression works, and [that] force is rewarded. It would be dangerous … for the whole world.”

The U.S. government also directly accused Russia last week of “crimes against humanity”—a phrase Washington doesn’t casually bandy about. It’s reserved for systematic attacks on civilian populations, using murder, torture and rape, etc. The torture camps that have been found throughout liberated Ukrainian space show that this label is certainly justified. Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan said, “Crimes against humanity are the kinds of thing that you only accuse a government of if you will never ever ever ever let them back into the family of nations. So from the American point of view … there is not going to be a diplomatic solution to this at any tier.”

Meanwhile, China continues to support Russia in numerous ways, and reports suggest that it could soon send lethal aid to help the Russian war machine keep slaughtering.

The battle lines have moved little in recent months, even though both sides are losing thousands of men in order to keep their positions. The Russians in particular are suffering extremely high casualty rates, with 200,000 to 270,000 troops having been killed, wounded or missing since February 2022. For perspective, when the Soviet Union tried to conquer Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, it lost a total of 15,000 troops. So Russia’s losses for the Ukraine war are in the stratosphere. But Russia has a vast population, and the leadership is unfazed by casualties. So it is clear on this one-year anniversary that this war could still go on for a long time.

However the war unfolds in the short term, and as nauseating as it is to contemplate, we should expect Russia ultimately to win the war. And this is because of what Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has said about Putin’s role in Bible prophecy. Several Bible passages describe an end-time, multinational, Asian military alliance. This vast alliance is discussed in the books of Daniel, Joel and Revelation, as well as particularly detailed passages in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Verse 2 of Ezekiel 38 says that this Asian alliance will be headed by a “prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal” (Young’s Literal Translation). Mr. Flurry has maintained since late 2013 that these three names refer to Russia and two of its key cities, and that this passage is describing Vladimir Putin.

In his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ he writes:

[Putin’s] track record, his nationality and his ideology show that he is fulfilling a linchpin Bible prophecy. The time frame of his rule also shows that nobody else could be fulfilling the Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy. … We need to watch Vladimir Putin closely. He is the “prince of Rosh” whom God inspired Ezekiel to write about 2,500 years ago!

So whether it is by China providing lethal assistance or some other set of factors, we should expect Putin to survive the war and to go on to lead a mighty Asian alliance. Mr. Flurry’s booklet shows that this means some profoundly dark years lie ahead for Ukraine, Russia and the entire world. But he also stresses that this darkness will be short-lived and will give way to a hope-filled future. He writes:

Vladimir Putin is a sign, literally a sign, … of one of the most inspiring messages in the Bible. What we are seeing in Russia ultimately leads to the transition from man ruling man to God ruling man! … A great transition is about to occur.

To understand the details of these Bible prophecies and what Mr. Flurry calls “the most inspiring message in the Bible,” order your free copy of The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’