Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Outlasts World War I, Reaching 1,569 Days

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has outlasted World War I, reaching 1,569 days as of Thursday, according to The Globe and Mail and its account of Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine’s trenches.

“Fifty-two months after the Russian invasion, this conflict has transformed combat strategies”

El País

The Globe and Mail describes how soldiers in the eastern Kharkiv region—under code names including Magister, Thanos, and Shved—link the present to Verdun, Passchendaele, and Vimy Ridge, even as drones have changed warfare.

El País

In that same reporting, Magister said, "When I think about the trenches, I think about how the rats and mice would start running back and forth and jumping on you. They somehow knew that the shelling was about to start," and Thanos recalled the sound of an incoming SPG.

The Globe and Mail adds that the position visited was roughly 30 kilometres behind the current fighting, just outside the 20-kilometre-wide kill zone that drones patrol, where the mission is to hold the line so the enemy goes no further.

The Conversation frames the comparison as imperfect but says the Ukraine conflict has become a contest of endurance, with "manpower, industrial capacity, economic resilience and political will" shaping the outcome rather than any individual weapons system.

The New York Times’ Constant Méheut, as cited by Newser, is described as noting that Thursday marked day 1,569 of Russia’s full-scale invasion, edging past World War I and reinforcing how far off a negotiated end appears.

Newser also reports Méheut’s comparison that "the intensity of firepower, mainly artillery, forced armies to turn to trenches," while noting drones have driven troops into deeper, smaller dugouts.

GZERO Media

In The Globe and Mail’s trench interview, Shved said, "The scariest part of being in the trenches is at the end of the shelling, when you can hear over the walkie-talkie how many have been killed and wounded," and Magister said, "Of course, we’ve lost brothers-in-arms."

The Conversation adds a dispute over casualty claims, quoting a dinner conversation in which a former Ukrainian government official paused before replying, "Same as the Russians."

GZERO Media’s framing ties the milestone to Vladimir Putin’s expectation of a quick victory, stating that the invasion has stretched "well past four years" with "no clear end in sight."

El País says this Thursday marks 1,569 days since Vladimir Putin launched his army onto Ukrainian territory in the early hours of February 24, 2022, making it one day longer than World War I lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918.

“The war in Ukraine has now lasted 1,568 days — as long as World War I”

Meduza

El País reports that Captain Oleksiy Mykhailov, 37, broke a record for the longest time a soldier remained in one position without relief, from April 1, 2025 to March 8, 2026, totaling 343 days near Orijiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In Mykhailov’s remarks to local media, he said, "An infantryman should spend one month in combat and another month recovering in a frontline village," adding, "But, as things stand right now, this is completely unrealistic because we do not have enough people," and El País links that to the human cost of prolonged endurance.

The Globe and Mail describes rear defence lines prepared in case Russian invaders break through Ukrainian defences further east, and it says the trench line was perhaps a metre and a half deep and topped by logs.

The Conversation concludes that, even with drones and other technologies, ground can only be taken and held by troops, stating, "drones, missiles and aircraft can destroy, disrupt and delay, but ground can only be taken and held by troops."