The war in Ukraine has now lasted 1,568 days — as long as World War I. Here’s what the past tells us about today’s battlefields.

At the start of 2026, Russia’s war in Ukraine surpassed World War II in length. As of June 10, the war in Ukraine has lasted as long as World War I — 1,568 days. Of course, a regional war of the 21st century has little in common with a global conflict of the 20th. But is there anything to be gained from comparing them? And what lessons might the participants in today’s war draw from World War I? Meduza looks back at why the deadliest conflict of a century ago lasted so long, what it cost the cou...