"Most Ukrainians do not accept a cession of territory to Putin."

BarcelonaARA has always been committed to working to be present where the events that shape the world's news are happening. "It's vital for international journalism to be able to travel and report on events from the field," it reiterated yesterday. the newspaper's head of International Affairs, Francesc Millan, at a meeting with subscribers that took place at the newspaper's headquarters. Francesc Millan is Head of International at ARA, and in recent months he's been to Syria, Israel, and Ukraine, three points that have marked the news agenda for 2025. At the meeting with subscribers, the central topic was Ukraine, where Millan has traveled several times since the start of the invasion. "After three and a half years of war, fatigue is becoming increasingly noticeable. I've also seen a change compared to the last time: Kiev is now the priority target of Putin's psychological warfare. The capital is frequently bombed, and anti-aircraft defenses are no longer as effective as before in stopping Russian missiles."

The meeting was highly participatory and generated debate among the attendees. The big question related to current events was to what extent the ceasefire negotiations led by Donald Trump are credible. Millan explained that most of the Ukrainians he was able to speak with On the last trip, a few weeks ago, they were totally skeptical. "They don't believe in Trump, much less Putin. Most think the war will be even longer and that if there is an agreement, it will harm Kiev's interests," Millan noted.

The head of International Affairs at ARA also stated that, based on his experience on the ground, "the majority of Ukrainians do not want to accept a cession of territories because they believe that, if this happens, Russia will take advantage of these territories in the future to try to invade all of Ukraine again." However, Millan insisted that it is difficult to generalize and, as is proper, there are nuances to take into account.

He also highlighted the role played by drones. These devices have become essential for both armies. The perfection of their use has made them the star weapon on the Ukrainian front, to the point that the vast majority of casualties on both sides are due to drones. Soldiers from both armies have decided to begin traveling across the front on motorcycles because in the event of a drone attack, the casualties are less significant than if traveling in vehicles where there are larger concentrations of troops.

In this sense, and taking advantage of the fact that Millan was in Strasbourg last week coinciding with Von der Leyen's State of the Union speech, there was particular discussion about Europe's role in this war. "The war in Ukraine has uncovered a major weakness in the EU: its dependencies," Millan stated. And now, according to the journalist, the dependency that most worries is that of Donald Trump's United States, which continues to guarantee protection and security in Europe. "There's a lot of talk about strategic autonomy in the EU, but it seems that this strategic autonomy is still a long way off and that, in the meantime, we'll have to continue to play ball in the White House," he explained. Along these lines, the consequences of Ukraine's entry into the European Union, now a military power, into the European Union would have on both sides were also discussed.

Millan also explained what it means to be a journalist in conflict zones. "You have to accept and fully understand the risks, of course." He also praised ARA's commitment to its International section, and especially to sending its journalists to the parts of the world that are deciding our future. "I think we can be proud of the presence that the ARA has in these areas. It is worth appreciating and we also want to thank you, the subscribers, because without your support these trips would not be possible," he concluded.

If you are not yet an ARA subscriber and want to participate in activities like this, you can become one. in this link.