Countless soldiers and civilians have lost their lives since Russia's military attack on Ukraine. Ukraine recently suffered a serious setback after Russia captured the town of Avdiivka.

ZDF correspondent Katrin Eigendorf, who spoke to Markus Lanz from Kyiv, said that the city is primarily strategically important for Ukraine and an “important bridgehead” in the east.

The loss of Avdiivka is therefore not only militarily serious, but also has a “moral consequence”. According to Eigendorf, the country currently has the impression that it is no longer possible to defend the country: “There is a shortage of soldiers, there is a shortage (…) there is also a shortage of ammunition in many military areas, there is a shortage of equipment. And Ukraine is really in a very, very bad dilemma,” the correspondent said honestly.

Eigendorf: Ukraine has its “back against the wall” in the war.

He added worriedly that the war had “currently reached a stage” where Ukrainians had “their backs against the wall”. The situation is “very dramatic,” Eigendorf explained.

In addition, the Ukrainian people are slowly stepping back and are “tired of this constant air disturbance.” At the same time, the Ukrainian army did not achieve “real resounding success”.

According to Eigendorf, this has led to a continued decline in Zelensky's popularity, and there is now an “open power struggle” between the opposition, the military leadership and the Ukrainian president. As Eigendorf made clear in his conversation with Lanz, the image of a “united country” is now beginning to crumble “very much.”

A statement that military expert Florence Gaub could not fully agree with. He first made it clear: “You cannot win a war with pessimism.” Although you have to admit the facts on the ground as “negative”, war is always “terrible”.

Florence Gaub: “For every dead Ukrainian there are seven dead Russians”

In this regard, Gaub warned that a negative assessment would be “ultimately harmful” because it would suggest to Russia that “we will soon abandon the Ukrainians because there is nothing left to win.” Gaub instead called for more support and a promise to provide Ukraine with “whatever is necessary” to “ultimately achieve the goal.”

However, Katrin Eigendorf fearlessly warned: “Russia has a lot of potential in terms of people, which they can use in this war. And Russia has a very well-functioning war machine.

In addition, the ZDF correspondent made it clear that Ukraine is in an extremely precarious situation: “The country cannot withstand the conflict any longer.” However, Florence Gaub shook her head and said: “For every dead Ukrainian, there are seven dead Russians. I wouldn't say that Russia seems to be mowing through it completely (…).

Lanz is surprised by Eigendorf's claim – Gaub: “Military victory is always about scale”

Nevertheless, Eigendorf revealed that Ukraine was already thinking “behind the scenes” about ceding Ukrainian territories to Russia. “I don't see that Ukraine here is so confident that it can win this war so quickly. To be honest, I don't see any signs on the ground that this will happen,” the journalist said.

While Lanz reacted with surprise, Florence Gaub suggested that the surrender of certain areas should also be considered a victory because: “Military victory is always scale.”

“Almost everyone now sees war with Russia as a real possibility”

At the same time, Gaub answered Lanzi's question whether Russia might attack a NATO member in the future: “A war with Russia is now seen by almost everyone as a real possibility.”

According to the expert, we have to “face the facts”, but there are concrete solutions, for example the purposeful cooperation of individual NATO member states. However, if Russia attacked Germany today, Gaub said, we would have “a real problem”. “Yes, the situation is serious!” said the expert to Lanz.

He still rules out that Germany has its own atomic bomb because, according to Florence Gaub, Germany's DNA is politically deeply “anti-nuclear.”

Mike Mohring: “Firewall debate ignores Thuringia's political reality”

CDU politician Mike Mohring was similarly confident in his interview with Lanz and said: “What Putin has done with his war of aggression must not be sanctioned. It must be rejected. The starting point must not be that Putin wins with his war of aggression. It must be clear to everyone!”

In this context, Markus Lanz also talked about the political situation in Germany – especially the important state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.

Journalist Martin Machowecz put it bluntly: “We really have an election year where very, very, very many things can and will happen that we can't possibly imagine yet.” He added with a serious expression: “The state elections are going east. – setup. They will have an extremely big impact on the federal elections (…). Let's see if the AfD becomes the strongest force in several of these states.

Machowecz predicted not only “the further rise of populism”, but also “the further rise of counter-movements”.

Mohring: “Firewall debate ignores political reality”

Mike Mohring reacted calmly and countered: “National elections are not won with pessimism. If we now look to the east and talk bad about everything – “a takeover and a disaster and the whole country will change” – then it will come exactly as we move forward pessimistically.” In the meantime, he would rather “think positively,” explained Mohring.

When Lanz was asked if he could imagine cooperation between the CDU and the left in Thuringia, the politician answered vaguely: “Politicians must have the strength to take responsibility and do something about the election results. (…) People do not want to be ruled by a minority. They want to be represented by the majority.” Mike Mohring concluded: “The firewall debate ignores the political reality of Thuringia.