Ukraine’s battle is our battle too – POLITICO

Petr Fiala is the prime minister of the Czech Republic.  

Whereas Russian missiles are destroying Ukrainian cities, procuring malls and colleges, the Ukrainian military is steadily advancing east, reclaiming territory unjustly — and illegally — seized by Russia.   

As they liberate villages, Ukrainian troopers are encountering destroyed houses, unearthing mass graves and discovering different proof of Russia’s barbarism. Nonetheless, the information from the entrance offers us hope that the battle is shifting within the route all of us hoped for.   

We believed, from the start, that this counteroffensive would come. It was additionally all the time clear that, regardless of all its heroism and dedication, Ukraine couldn’t handle this battle with out in depth assist from the West, and I’m proud that my nation was one of many first to supply not simply large-scale humanitarian support, but additionally weapons. We’ve despatched tanks, infantry combating automobiles, ammunition and extra, all to assist the outnumbered Ukrainian forces.   

Extra help was additionally organized straight by Czech residents in a collection of spontaneous collections, unprecedented in its scale. Only some days in the past, the Czech inhabitants efficiently collected sufficient cash to ship a tank named Thomas to Ukraine.   

Moreover, the Czech Republic has aided Ukrainian girls, youngsters and the aged who fled the struggle to avoid wasting their lives. We’ve taken in additional than 400,000 refugees — an infinite quantity for our nation of simply 10 million. Lots of those that have determined to remain within the Czech Republic have been capable of finding jobs right here as nicely, and they’re efficiently integrating into our society, with youngsters enrolling in colleges. All this, with none vital points or conflicts.   

All of those actions — offering asylum for refugees, a provide of weapons and solidarity of our residents — are methods of standing up for what’s proper. They’re additionally important steps towards our survival.  

Ukraine’s battle is our battle too. The Czech Republic’s battle, the European Union’s battle, the entire of Europe’s battle. Our personal geopolitical prospects rely on the result of this struggle. The destiny of Ukraine is straight linked to the worldwide order during which we should stay, and it’ll determine what the aggressors of the world will likely be allowed to do sooner or later.   

Subsequently, with out a free Ukraine, there is no such thing as a free Europe. And if Russia destroys Ukraine, it’s us — Central and Japanese Europe — who’re standing proper behind it, ready in line to be attacked subsequent.   

All of this has guided us in serving to Ukraine since day one, and we should maintain all of it in thoughts sooner or later, when peace and justice should be negotiated.  

 Ukrainians have proven unbelievable stamina and admirable capabilities. Nonetheless, once they lastly push Russian occupiers out of their nation — as all of us hope to see — the disaster will, sadly, nonetheless be removed from over.  

Merely put, Ukraine can’t keep away from the legal guidelines of geography. Even when it wins, the nation will nonetheless need to stay proper subsequent door to Russia, and guaranteeing long-term stability, justice and post-war reconstruction will likely be no much less difficult.  

The worldwide neighborhood’s major process will then be to discover a answer to make sure true peace, and never enable for a frozen or smoldering battle on Europe’s borders that will pose a everlasting menace.  

I’m happy with the way in which the West has labored collectively to reply to the struggle when it mattered essentially the most. We’ve found the power to agree on vital points and have been capable of act rapidly.  

Nonetheless, we should additionally stay invested in Ukraine within the months and years forward, when success will rely extra on cautious strategic planning, shared dedication and a tough seek for consensus — particularly in a scenario the place the combating partially calms down and the Western world turns its focus extra towards its personal inner points, primarily power safety.  

It doesn’t matter what, the way forward for Ukraine is so essential that it merely should stay a precedence.  

2022 has reminded us of what makes the West nice and what our strengths are. It’s because of the basic values that gave delivery to our world — the inviolability of human life, safety of the weak, respect for contracts, freedom of motion and an open society — that we stay essentially the most profitable civilization in historical past.  

The distinction with the “Russian method” couldn’t be higher.  

Russia has been making an attempt to construct a brand new world all through its trendy historical past. Nonetheless, the imaginative and prescient for that world is just not of a greater future. As a substitute, Russia appears to be delirious with fever, bringing struggling to all. It has no regard for human life, destroying tens of hundreds in current months.  

We ignored and tolerated the dangers posed by the Russian regime for a very long time — though there was greater than sufficient proof on the contrary. Because the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, we’ve been both too naive or too carefree in our strategy towards Moscow. Hopefully, the struggle in Ukraine has put a definitive finish to that.   

After months, we now have now lastly dedicated to Ukraine what we should always have achieved after the unlawful occupation of Crimea in 2014. We’ve dedicated to sanctions, diplomatic isolation and a seek for different suppliers of uncooked supplies. And given our data and expertise, we should always now assume very rigorously about what precisely we should do subsequent. 

We merely can’t afford to make the identical errors once more.  

The struggle in Ukraine has shaken the world, however it has additionally given us an opportunity to revitalize our elementary establishments. We are actually way more conscious of what’s important and what’s secondary; what we should do for our safety and the way crucial it’s for us to stay sturdy as a way to protect peace.  

In current months, many have discovered their misplaced religion in our civilization. However difficult months and years nonetheless lie forward. Allow us to attempt to benefit from them.