Oxford News
Expert Comment: Four years of full-scale war and Ukrainian resistance continues
At 5:00am on 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation of a conflict that had begun in 2014 when the Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed separatists occupied cities in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Despite ceasefires and negotiated settlements like the Minsk Agreements in 2014 and 2015, the war raged for eight years as Russian troops sought to capture Donbas. By the time of Russia’s 2022 invasion, many in the international community expected a swift and decisive Russian victory and the collapse of Kyiv within a few days – these assessments were reinforced by the comparably smaller size of the Ukrainian army in 2022 and inflated beliefs about Russia’s military capabilities.
Although Russian President Putin and also some US policymakers continue to insinuate that Russia is moving towards a battlefield victory, in reality, Russian advances have slowed in the last two years to an average rate of between 15 and 70 metres per day in the most effective offensives – these numbers are lower than almost any major offensive operation in any war in the last century.
Four years on, however, Ukraine remains an independent state and Russia continues to wage a total war against it.
While stories about the war in Ukraine now appear less often as news headlines, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion is an important moment for us to reflect on the political and military developments of the last four years. As of February 2026, it is estimated that Russia controls roughly 20 percent of Ukraine’s land, having made slow gains in the east of the country in 2025 – it is approximated that Russia occupied around 1800 square miles in the last year, which is roughly three times the size of Greater London.
Although Russian President Putin and also some US policymakers continue to insinuate that Russia is moving towards a battlefield victory, in reality, Russian advances have slowed in the last two years to an average rate of between 15 and 70 metres per day in the most effective offensives – these numbers are lower than almost any major offensive operation in any war in the last century. Not only do these gains, and Russia’s overall progress on the battlefield since 2022, fall resolutely short of Putin’s original war aim of conquering the Ukrainian state, they have also come at an extraordinary price for Russia. It is difficult to ascertain losses in an active war, however, some estimates suggest that Russia has suffered nearly 1.25 million casualties (including killed, wounded, and missing) since February 2022 – more than any major power since World War II – and others approximate that at least 325,000 people have been killed fighting on Russia’s side since February 2022.
Efforts to end the now twelve-year war through negotiation have also repeatedly failed. Although American President Trump has recently taken a lead on the negotiations – including inviting Putin to Alaska and welcoming him on a red carpet in August 2025, hosting Zelensky and other European leaders in Washington a few days later, and then drafting a controversial 28-point peace plan shortly after – none of the multiple peace efforts have produced a breakthrough or even remotely lived up to his presidential campaign promise in 2024 of ending the war within “24 hours.”
It is difficult to ascertain losses in an active war, however, some estimates suggest that Russia has suffered nearly 1.25 million casualties (including killed, wounded, and missing) since February 2022 – more than any major power since World War II – and others approximate that at least 325,000 people have been killed fighting on Russia’s side since February 2022.
The most recent round of talks to end the war was the trilateral meeting of Ukraine, Russia, and the US in Geneva in mid-February 2026, yet, it, too, ended without a resolution or even a temporary ceasefire due to Russia’s determination to keep the territory it has illegally grabbed from Ukraine.
But even despite these growing international pressures on Ukraine – especially from Russia and the US – to concede land to end the fighting, Ukrainians remain committed to the defence of their country’s territorial sovereignty and political autonomy.
Whilst the costs of fighting are mounting and the benefits of continuing self-defence remain uncertain, Ukrainian citizens show nearly equal categorical opposition to Russian control as they did four years ago. Notably, resistance to conceding territory or accepting a politically neutral status without the possibility of joining the EU and/or NATO has weakened amongst some groups of the Ukrainian population since 2022, with ethnic Ukrainians, those less affected by the war, and those more trusting in Ukraine’s president comparatively holding the strongest opposition. Yet, even as roughly 55,000 of their own soldiers have been killed and more than 70,000 civilians and military personnel remain missing from the last four years of fighting against Russia’s authoritarian and imperialist agenda, Ukrainians still unequivocally reject political or territorial concessions, at any cost, to end the war.
Whereas negotiations thus far have largely ignored ordinary Ukrainians’ perspectives, focusing much more on the location of the frontline and the land that Ukraine might need to concede to satisfy Russia’s war aims, they must fundamentally be accounted for in any discussions about ending the war to ensure a just and sustainable peace.
Whereas negotiations thus far have largely ignored ordinary Ukrainians’ perspectives, focusing much more on the location of the frontline and the land that Ukraine might need to concede to satisfy Russia’s war aims, they must fundamentally be accounted for in any discussions about ending the war to ensure a just and sustainable peace.
In the face of increasing global insecurity and growing fractures in the international order, including questions around the future of NATO and European unity, Ukrainians’ resistance amidst four years of full-scale war is also as a reminder of the value of freedom and the vulnerability of democracy. Although the post-Cold War era was for a long time thought to reflect the triumph of liberal democracy, global cooperation, and the end of bipolar nuclear existential threats, Russia’s war against Ukraine shows that we are living in a time of transition towards a contested and multipolar world order with growing challenges from new illiberal powers. This reality should not to be taken lightly as democratic erosion appears to be on the rise globally, including within Europe but also in states once hailed as the leaders of democracy and the ‘free world.’
Still, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion is not only a critical moment to reflect on the fading of the liberal international order, but to realise the human costs of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Beyond civilian and military causalities, cities and communities across Ukraine have been devastated, and Ukraine is estimated to have lost roughly a quarter of its pre-2022 population through displacement domestically and abroad, Russian occupation, and the abduction of children from occupied areas. This figure does not capture the war’s secondary effects, including the lives lost due to limited access to social services or health care, or the slow violence enacted by the environmental consequences of the war.
As we enter the fifth year of the full-scale war, and the thirteenth year of the Russia-Ukraine war, it is thus important that we remember those who have and continue to endure the war firsthand – those who have fought, fled, and persevered amidst immense uncertainty and loss but who nevertheless continue to stand strong in defence of a free and sovereign Ukraine.
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Cherwell District Council has backed the plans to transform the 14-hectare brownfield site at Islip Fuel Depot, a former RAF fuel depot near Islip village.
The plans include 150 homes, of which half will be affordable, up to a 70-bed care home and up to 65 retirement units, subject to 20 conditions.
These will replace the decommissioned Islip Fuel Depot off Bletchingdon Road, which was taken over by the Esso Petroleum Company in the 1960s before being shut down in 1991.
Under approval conditions, the developer must contribute almost £5m to local services, councils and police, under S106 contributions.
More than £300,000 will go towards local services. This includes improvements to Household Waste Recycling, Kidlington Library and Islip Medical Practice, or an identified primary care project in the local area.
The district council requested more than £1m in contributions towards enhancing community hall facilities, outdoor and indoor sport provision, a community development worker and fund, and public art.
Oxfordshire County Council requested more than £3.6m in financial contributions, including almost £3m towards primary and secondary education.
Thames Valley Police requested more than £30,000 towards additional staff, vehicles, premises, equipment and ANPR cameras.
In the case officer’s report, Katherine Daniels noted that while the proposal would result in the development of a substantial site on the edge of the village with some landscape and visual harm, weight is given to the benefits.
One of those is the council not being currently able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.
She said: “The delivery of market housing attracts significant positive weight and the affordable housing provision attracts very substantial positive weight given the acute need for affordable homes across the District.
“National policy and guidance recognise the pressing need to provide accommodation for older persons and specialist housing to meet changing demographics. The proposal would make an important contribution towards addressing that need.”
Weight is also given to the redevelopment of the “largely redundant” brownfield site.
She said: “The proposal would secure remediation of contaminated land, environmental improvements and the beneficial reuse of previously developed land in accordance with national and local planning objectives.”
The site was first thought to be within Oxford Green Belt but officers concluded the site constitutes Grey Belt land.
She said: “The proposal would not result in unacceptable impacts in respect of highway safety, heritage assets, ecology, flooding, drainage, contamination, residential amenity or infrastructure provision.
“These matters can be appropriately addressed through planning conditions and planning obligations.”
Radley College is an independent full boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18, set in the countryside between Oxford and Abingdon.
It occupies the historic Radley Hall estate, with grounds partly landscaped by Capability Brown in the eighteenth century, and has grown to more than 850 acres in the 2020s.
The private school has now come under fire after locals spotted sprinklers being used on the grounds last week despite a hosepipe ban.
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Thames Water announced at the end of last month that a temporary ban would start at 12.01am on Thursday, July 23.
This was due to an exceptionally dry spring, three official heatwaves, record‑breaking temperatures and prolonged high demand.
Sprinklers have been in operation at the Oxfordshire site in recent days, but the school has defended this, citing the water use as fulfilling health and safety needs.
A Radley College spokesperson said: “The safety and wellbeing of everyone using our facilities remains our priority.
“During periods of dry weather, pitches can become extremely hard, increasing the risk of injury to players.
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“To minimise this risk, some of our pitches are watered for health and safety reasons using water from our on-site borehole.”
Pupils partake in a variety of sports throughout the year including rugby union, hockey, rowing, football, cricket, lawn tennis and athletics.
A statement from Thames Water backs up the school’s use of water to maintain the pitches.
The water company said: “Whilst elements of the ban do restrict some business water use, schools and sporting fields / playing surfaces are still permitted to irrigate with mains water.
“This is due to health and safety requirements.”
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The hosepipe ban remains in place currently across Oxfordshire with no end date yet set despite some rainfall last week and more expected in the coming days.
A spokesperson for Thames Water recently said: “We’ll continue to monitor water levels and conditions across the region.
“We’ll lift the hosepipe ban as soon as conditions allow.
“Thank you to everyone who has already reduced their water use- your support is helping protect water supplies for communities and the environment.”
Formerly known as St Peter’s College, Radley, the school was founded in 1847 by Anglican clergymen William Sewell and Robert Corbet Singleton.
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It was inspired by the Oxford Movement to create a Christian, collegiate-style school with an emphasis on beauty and privacy.
As of the 2026/27 academic year, Radley charges £21,216 per term for boarders, inclusive of VAT, meaning annual fees in excess of £63,000.
Notable former pupils include Oxford-born reality TV star and entrepreneur Jamie Laing, best known for Made in Chelsea and his confectionery brand Candy Kittens.
Former England cricket captains Andrew Strauss and Ted Dexter, as well as comedian Peter Cook, all attended Radley College as well.
A series of modernisations and refurbishments at the popular sports hub, based off Hithercroft Road in Wallingford, has culminated in the refurbishment of its clubhouse.
Earlier in the year, the sports park’s main toilets were modernised, the AstroTurf pitches resurfaced, and funding secured to redo the clubhouse bar and main hall.
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The ‘vibrant’ new space was inaugurated on Saturday, August 1, with an open event encouraging people to try out the new facilities and see what the sports park has on offer.
Manager Matthew Bowden-Ford said: “We’ve got a nice fresh look for our main bar area and main hall, as we just needed to modernise.
“The space was in need of a bit of a redesign and funding became available from the local council to make it happen.
“With a busy space like this, we’ll always have other hopes and dreams with a refresh of the facilities, so this won’t be the last work we’re doing.
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“But we want to get across that the clubhouse is here for anyone to come and socialise and enjoy, you don’t have to be a member of a club, a sports team or the sports park, and we’re open to all.
“We’re very much a community hub and we’re here for everyone to enjoy.”
Wallingford Sports Park is run by the Wallingford Sports Charitable Trust and hosts eight sports club and many community activities and events throughout the year.
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