Opinion: The path to peace in Europe

‘With Ukraine, as long as it takes,’ we proclaimed. But in Moscow, they heard something else: the West is more terrified of Ukraine winning than losing. To dispel any doubts, the Kremlin unleashed death and destruction on Ukraine’s cities – on the eve of a NATO summit – killing dozens, including children receiving cancer treatment in a Kyiv hospital.
Let’s be clear: Russia alone is culpable for the war crimes it commits. But the grim reality is that the missiles that struck Ukraine could have been, but weren’t, intercepted. That’s because over the last ten years, since Russia first invaded, we have collectively failed to equip Ukraine with the air defense systems we have in storage and Ukraine needs on the battlefield. A harsh lesson the world must learn today: at its limit, complacency is complicity.
Our failure to commit to Ukraine’s victory is both unconscionable and indefensible. A sober look at how we arrived at this point in history reveals that we are betraying ourselves, not just Ukraine’s bravest sons and daughters.
Waging an unprovoked war of choice, Moscow likes to spin a tale of a neighborly dispute that spiraled into a ‘conflict’ to be resolved through negotiations and compromise. This framing is cynical and callous, but many nations around the world adopt it – absolving themselves of responsibility.
This false narrative has pervaded our discourse since 2014 when little green men (i.e. Russian troops) appeared in Crimea and later Donbas. This game of deception worked not only because the Kremlin lied but because we went along with it. To face the truth required decisive action; instead, we chose token gestures and clung to the hope, despite all evidence, that appeasement would work this time.
Russia’s conduct isn’t just morally reprehensible, it is criminal, as per the Rome Statute of the ICC. This reality presents a stark choice before free societies: Do we repeat the errors that precipitated WWII, or do we finally understand that appeasement is the fuel on which Russian aggression runs? When met with weakness and indecisiveness, the Kremlin escalates. Unity and strength is the only path to lasting peace.
With the full-scale invasion of 2022, Russian tanks violated the borders of a sovereign state en masse in an act of naked aggression. Perhaps a greater threat to global security came in the form of the Kremlin saber-rattling its nukes. Whether or not it was Moscow’s intention, we now live in a world where a grave precedent is being set. Timothy Snyder said it best: “By taking nuclear blackmail seriously, we have actually increased the overall chances of nuclear war. If nuclear blackmail enables a Russian victory, the consequences will be incalculably awful.”
Our repeated policy blunders stem from a profound misunderstanding of Russia. We perceive it as a nation-state with interests similar to our own, but this is a dangerous illusion. The Moscow-centered polity isn’t a country but a classic colonial empire. For centuries, Muscovy absorbed diverse regions and cultures and held them together by force and fear. The satirical account on X, Darth Putin, once quipped: “Russia always defends itself in other people’s countries. It’s how we peacefully & anti-imperialistically become the world’s largest country.”
Growing up in Ukraine during the waning days of Moscow’s occupation—often referred to as the Soviet period—I was taught that Nazism had been vanquished by communism. However, what my teachers failed to explain was that Communists and Nazis, who entered WWII as allies, were more alike than different.
Both caused immense suffering to the Ukrainian nation. Stalin’s policy of extermination by starvation, known as the Holodomor, took the lives of millions in 1932-1933 and is now recognized as genocide by 33 countries.
While Germany lost the war and underwent a profound transformation, Russia refuses to confront its bloodstained history, and that keeps it firmly on a road to fascism. Whether defined by its authoritarian leadership and personality cult or a relentless suppression of dissent and perversion of truth through propaganda, contemporary Russia fits the mold.
On February 24th, 2022, the Kremlin delivered the triumph of will over reason. The dehumanization of the Ukrainian people has been achieved. How else can one explain why Russian soldiers are beheading POWs, raping children, targeting maternity wards with missiles? Russia is happy at war, writes Anastasia Edel, noting that two years into the carnage, public support for Russia’s war among its people is polling at an average of 75%.
Why don’t we believe Russia when it announces its genocidal intentions? Even more importantly, why can’t we find the strength to help Ukraine expel the invaders?  Every aggressive move by Moscow foretells the next.  As Ukraine’s Nobel laureate, Oleksandra Matviichuk, aptly observed: “Unpunished evil grows.” History teaches us that such evil will have to be confronted sooner or later, so why are we waiting for it to spread and gather strength?
Time and again, we squander opportunities to reassert the values we profess. The path to peace is as clear today as it was ten years ago: a firm stance of the collective West backed by decisive actions to disabuse Moscow of its imperial ambitions.
What if Russia lost the war? Let us not fall into the Kremlin’s narrative trap; no one invaded Russia. When we commit to Ukraine’s victory and help this freedom-loving nation restore its sovereignty, Moscow will have lost nothing.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.