Ukraine to Europe – are you ready to fight tonight?

Yahoo

04-04-2025

"Peace agreed upon," declared The Washington Times on September 28, 1938. By now, we should have learned: deals with predator states bent on conquest – whether Nazi Germany then or Russia today – don't buy peace; they invite war. In the last century, Europe didn't avert disaster; it sleepwalked straight into the deadliest conflict in humanity's history.
The lesson of Munich fades, but the truth remains – evil left unpunished spreads, and the cost of confronting it only grows with time.
Let's say it aloud, if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, today's schoolchildren in Hamburg, Lyon, Milan, and Bristol will soon face a question their parents shun: will you fight for your home the way Ukrainians fought for theirs? Denial is not a strategy. It is capitulation.
Every morning since 2008, Europe has woken up to an ever-growing threat emanating from Moscow – but with no greater sense of urgency or appreciation for Dietrich Bonhoeffer's famous words "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."
2008 was the year Russian tanks shattered the post-Cold War order, violating Georgia's sovereign borders. Russian lies, meanwhile, seeped into Europe's airwaves and Russian rubles corrupted the powerful and influential – business as usual.
Instead of recognizing the danger, Europe let fear dictate its response – fear of escalation, fear of economic blowback, fear of provoking the very aggression the Kremlin had already unleashed. Paralyzed by the belief that confronting Moscow was too risky, Europe missed the memo: not confronting it was and remains the most dangerous option of all.
Russia is waging an unprovoked war – standing up to it is both necessary and morally right. Doing so would not only strengthen European confidence but also help the continent rediscover its sense of purpose. But it requires leadership and boldness. Europe's politicians must be honest with their voters: either we mobilize the necessary support for Ukraine to win, or we will have to mobilize you – the citizens of Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and beyond – for military service in the years to come.
For much of the postwar era, Europe's pacifism was both a moral conviction and a convenient excuse. The devastation of two world wars instilled a deep aversion to military force, reinforcing the belief that restraint – not strength – ensured peace. Some politicians instrumentalized pacifism not to defend peace but to dodge responsibility – until the illusion of safety was shattered in 2008, again in 2014, and catastrophically in 2022.
Europe hasn't transcended war – the relative tranquility and unprecedented prosperity were underwritten by the power of deterrence, also known as NATO. Now, with Washington's focus shifting and Moscow's imperial ambitions spiraling out of control, the old pacifist reflex is worse than obsolete – it is a fatal liability.
A pro-peace demonstration that fails to name the aggressor – Russia – and acknowledge the ongoing suffering of the victim – Ukraine – is no solace to the 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia over the last three years. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Moscow's war crimes against the most vulnerable. Years of Russian control since 2014 have already robbed countless Ukrainian children of their identities and futures – some of whom, tragically, were sent to die under the flag of their predatory, bloodthirsty kidnappers.
Ukraine is the target of Russian aggression, but make no mistake, our brave nation is not a security burden for Europe – but a provider if not the ultimate guarantor. By resisting the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has severely degraded Moscow's military capabilities. But more importantly, it chose to fight rather than surrender – a gift Europe has yet to fully appreciate. A well-armed, NATO-integrated Ukraine is what a credible deterrent against future aggression looks like.
Europe has real options it can activate. It can seize and transfer $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, form a European army as suggested by President Zelenskyy, commit to tightening sanctions or better enforcement of the existing ones, dealing with the so-called shadow feel, and upping support for Ukraine every month until the Russian army stops trying to erase Ukraine from the map.
If anything could de-escalate Moscow's appetite for violence, it is a Free World that stops apologizing for its power. Europe's economy is ten times larger than Russia's, and its population is three times as big. Why it feels compelled to cede the initiative after the Kremlin launched an overtly criminal war remains a mystery.
The idea that Russia is on the brink of going nuclear is the most dangerous misconception of all. The risk of Armageddon hasn't diminished – it has grown, because the West let the Kremlin's blackmail dictate its response, or rather, its non-response. Meanwhile, China has drawn a red line, warning Putin against the use of doomsday weaponry.
When someone points to the nonzero risk of nuclear war, remind them that caving to Moscow's threats would shred the non-proliferation order and make WWIII far more likely, not less. Give in once, and every dictator will take note – better get my own bomb.
There is no limit to the depravity of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. But one stands out as a screaming canary in the coal mine: forcing Ukrainian prisoners of war to fight against their own homeland. Several regions of Ukraine have now been under occupation for eleven years. Russian commissars are now conscripting Ukrainians in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea – young men who weren't even teens when the occupation began.
The Russian flywheel of false grievances, hatred toward the West, endless lies, and a shift to a full wartime economy is spinning faster and faster. It'll go into overdrive, not slow down, if the civilized world fails to ensure Ukraine's victory and a restoration of justice for the victims of Russia's war crimes.
Neither Europe nor the U.S. get to decide what Moscow will do. The Kremlin isn't just clinging to power – it wages wars of aggression because it is rooted in Russia's imperial ethos, an insatiable thirst for conquest, and a culture not just tolerant of, but often eager to unleash, heinous violence. What the Free World can decide is how to respond. So far, it has chosen weakness and denial. This didn't end well in 1938. It won't end well now.
Andrew Chakhoyan, Academic Director at the University of Amsterdam.
Olga Aivazovska, Head of Board, Civil Network OPORA.