There is an obvious lesson to be learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its constant threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and Europe.
Russia should not and can not have nuclear weapons and there can never be a new normal with an imperialist Russia. The idea that we Europeans have to survive with imperialist and warring neighbors who constantly threaten the use of nuclear weapons is at best naive, but at worst evil. Macron and Scholz seem to be isolated in their naive and evil premise that somehow if Putin withdraws from Ukraine and says “I’m sorry”, a new normal can be re-established. The way sanctions are being initiated by the EU, piecemeal and gradually as if to keep some leverage for future use shows a great lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation. The reality is that Russia has initiated total war and this is not a time for diplomatic brinkmanship. Not sending Ukraine the weapons it needs to win this war will cause even more unnecessary deaths by prolonging the war while simultaneously empowering Russia and Putin to make even more threats. Macron and Von Der Leyen, who never worked an hour in their life and write platitudes from their gilded offices fail to understand reality for the obvious reason that throughout all f their lives they had been insulated from reality. The incompetence and the ignorance are shocking, to say the least. By now, Europe should already be talking about disarming Russia and planning a new world order where Russia is incapable to launch any military invasion outside its borders.
The United Nations have failed to secure peace and stability because it is only a talking shop. Europe is learning the hard way that peace and stability only come from a robust defence structure which deters rogue states from attacking you. Ukraine has fallen victim to Russian imperialism simply because it was not part of Europe’s defence structure and the Baltic states know this very well. Today, we know by foresight that Europe would have been incredibly different if it hadn’t been for NATO’s existence: it would have been less democratic, less free, and with less rule of law.
Europe should not shy away from using its power to regulate who and who can not have nuclear weapons in its backyard. This should not be seen as a privilege but as a great responsibility. Europe is not perfect, surely, but it is a beacon for democracy and rule-of-law to the whole world and Europe’s strength strengthens democracies abroad.
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