Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that Putin was going to fight to the end and called for more active support for Ukraine; Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen noted that the war in Ukraine was a war for the future of Europe. These two statements, which were published simultaneously in the Western media, testify to Europe’s reconsideration of the possible consequences of the war of aggression launched by Putin against Ukraine, but which may well reach Europe. For its part, Russia is making unprecedented efforts with the help of available propaganda assets to convince the West that there is no need to support Ukraine and cultivate the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army. In particular, relevant articles with pro-Russian narratives began to appear en masse in the leading Western media. This is evidence that Putin desperately needs a tactical pause to rearm and to attempt the next full-scale offensive
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said in an interview with The Sunday Times that the West had no right to allow Putin to defeat Ukraine. But this goal is difficult to achieve with military budgets that were adopted after the end of the Cold War. In other words, Europe must step out its comfort zone and begin active rearmament, modernization of military equipment and replenishment of weapons, because Putin created a new reality on February 24, 2022. To ignore or misunderstand it will lead to disaster. On the other hand, comprehensive and timely support for Ukraine, which is fighting with the Russian army on its territory, is a guarantee that Putin can’t open a second front in Europe.
Contrary to popular belief, Putin is not afraid of NATO near Russia’s borders. Moreover, the current policy of the EU increasingly convinces him of the weakness of Europe, which under such circumstances can become an easy target for Russia. During his direct line on December, 14, 2023, the Kremlin’s master clearly stated to the whole world that the war would continue as long as he was in power, and Russian soldiers would go as far as the collective West would allow. If Ukraine fails to contain the Russians, Moldova, which is a honey pie for the Kremlin, will be next. Otherwise, Brussels will have to decide whether to apply Article 5 of the Alliance in order to save, for example, Estonia or Lithuania from Russian occupation, because otherwise it will manifest the artificiality of Western supranational institutions and lead to the collapse of Europe. Under these circumstances, one would like to hope that the West will be able to consolidate in the face of the greatest modern threat and prevent Russian totalitarianism from winning, the key goal of which is the enslavement and destruction of Europe.