On the tail end of his ten-year tenure as NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, offered the following pearls of wisdom during his Sept. 19, 2024 speech at a German Marshall Fund event titled “Reflections on a Challenging Decade”:
“We all want this war to end. The quickest way to end the war is to lose it. But that will not bring peace. It will bring Russian occupation…
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“The paradox is that the more weapons for Ukraine we are able to deliver, the more likely it is that we can reach a peace and end to the war…
“There can be no sustained security in Europe, without a stable Ukraine. And no lasting security for Ukraine, without NATO membership.”
With the benefit of this meaningful insight, it becomes evident that to ensure genuine and lasting peace and security in Europe, NATO member countries must provide Ukraine with: (a) the weapons it needs, including with long-range capabilities and without short-sighted restrictions on their use, to enable Ukraine to effectively protect its airspace, liberate its territories and win Russia’s war against it; and (b) NATO membership to ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine in the future.
Is such an impactful and worthwhile investment in its future too cost prohibitive for the West?
During CNN’s program Fareed Zakaria GPS, on Sept. 15, 2024, this well-known journalist revealed what former President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, had told him:
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“This war is a struggle of will. Putin is in it to win, and he has transformed his economy into a war machine spending something like 7 or 8% of GDP on his war of aggression The West is spending roughly 0.2% of its GDP helping Ukraine defend itself. If we could even double that figure, we could bankrupt Putin.”
Although not insignificant, this cost pales in comparison to the high price Ukraine is paying daily to defend its territorial integrity, and that of Europe. Indeed, except for the inhumane Kremlin, there is no higher price than that of human lives. The bloodshed and destruction in Ukraine are a testament that its people are really paying the ultimate price to stop a malicious imperialist force bent on destroying Western security and recreating a neo-Soviet Union.
Thus, for our collective well-being, the West must help Ukraine win this war and then ensure that history will not repeat itself with another genocide against the Ukrainian people.
This will require true leadership and unflinching determination, as victory over today’s ever-present threat of Russian imperialism will not be won with indecision and half-measures.
On a positive note, it is worthwhile remembering that Ukraine is really fighting a David-vs-Goliath battle and, although the substantially bigger and stronger, Goliath was touted to win. Those who have read the Bible’s Book of Samuel know that David won. So will Ukraine.
Indeed, notwithstanding the fact that Western support has been incremental and often belated, Ukraine has not only been defending itself for over a decade against an imperialist Russia, supported by other authoritarian states, but it has already shattered the myth that Russia is a military superpower. This demonstrates that with truly strategic support from the West, Ukraine can really win Russia’s war.
At the outset of Russia’s total war, Ukraine’s foes and skeptics believed that Russia would overcome Ukraine in only three days. It is only fitting that the same people continue to shamelessly blunder regarding Ukraine’s path to victory.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
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