„Ukraine asks: Europe, can you still hear us?“ Commentary by Nico Lange, senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference, for the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA.org):
From Madrid to Paris, from Berlin to Warsaw, the leaves are changing into a beautiful kaleidoscope of gold, orange and red. Families stroll the streets, enjoying cafes, laughing children play in the autumn sun.
In Konstantinovka, eastern Ukraine, the leaves are also ablaze with vibrant colors. But the streets are empty and the predominant sound is that of Russian artillery. Vladimir Putin’s troops surround the city, where only a few of its 67,000 inhabitants remain. Only the elderly remain, like grandmother Lyuba, who stubbornly refuses to leave. In a note to one of her daughters in Germany, she writes: “The leaves have never been so colorful, but all the children have left. Can Europe still hear our cry?”
This is a painful question. Putin’s war is not some distant conflict in the Donbass. It is a war that Russia is waging against all of Europe – against our security, our freedom and our future.
Look at the map: in Poland, Russian drones have violated NATO airspace, Russian planes have entered Estonian territory, in Sweden, Russia has launched an attack on its infrastructure. In Germany, Russian agents wanted to kill the director of “Rheinmetall“.
Putin is waging the largest and bloodiest war in Europe since 1945. His goal is to fundamentally change the European order. He imagines a Europe without NATO, without the EU, without American security guarantees. A Europe that is dominated, blackmailed and subordinated to Russia.
The fact that Ukrainians continue to defend their homeland and oppose the tyranny of the Kremlin is something that Putin will never understand. That is also the root of his fundamentally wrong judgment to attack Ukraine.
Militarily, Putin has been largely unsuccessful. Russia’s advance on Kiev in the first days of the invasion failed after 72 hours, and subsequent Ukrainian counteroffensives have shown Russia to be vulnerable.
Putin misjudged Ukrainian resolve, but he also made a strategic bet on European weakness, fear, and indecision. He launched an information war against the West, fueling a powerful narrative that Russia cannot be stopped. He believes that a deeply risk-averse Europe would rather take its autumn walks and coffee shops than stand up for its freedom.
More than three years after the start of a full-scale war, the European strategy of helping Ukraine until it loses the war is militarily ineffective, politically risky, and economically costly. This approach prolongs the war at the expense of both Ukraine and all of Europe, while giving the Kremlin more time to sow further division on the continent while testing our eastern flank.
Compromise with Putin is not possible. Europe’s only solution is to defeat him. Our continent must finally and fully arm Ukraine militarily and take further measures to exert military, economic, and financial pressure on Russia. If Putin understands only the language of force, Europe must speak to him.
Given its immense military power and the importance of the transatlantic relationship, the United States must and will continue to play a key role in the war in Ukraine and in European security. But we cannot afford to wait for Washington to decide what we will do and when. There is no more time to waste. Putin is counting on Europe’s hesitation. We must prove him wrong by embarking on a comprehensive plan to defeat Moscow. Here it is:
Militarily, we must work with Ukraine to immediately create an integrated air defense system. We must use the invaluable front-line experience of the Ukrainians (including in the fight against drones) and continue to assist them. At the same time, Europe must quickly provide Ukraine with long-range weapons to attack Russian command centers, ammunition depots, airfields, and drone factories deep in the Russian hinterland. This will give Ukraine important military advantages while meeting European security interests.
In addition, Europe must launch an emergency program to support the Ukrainian arms industry, as well as further prepare its military presence in Ukraine, using Article 42 of the EU Treaty. Economically, we must stop the money that finances Moscow's war machine. Europe must abruptly and definitively end all imports of energy and raw materials from Russia.
Another immediate step is to completely block Russia's "shadow fleet". Old tankers that evade sanctions should not be allowed to sail in the Baltic Sea to stop the flow of additional funds to the Kremlin's coffers.
Existing sanctions should be further tightened and consistently applied, including against third countries that help Russia circumvent them.
The EU should not allow individual member states to continue to block decisions in an existential situation. Hungary should be temporarily deprived of its voting rights in the Council of the European Union with immediate effect.
Europe should no longer serve as a place of rest or refuge for Russians. Until the war is over, no new Schengen visas should be issued to Russian citizens, and those with existing visas should be gradually revoked, starting with diplomatic passports and visas for officials, oligarchs and their children.
Finally, Europe must reach out directly to the Russian people. We must tell them that the war machine that has caused over a million Russian victims, including 250,000 dead, can end and a peaceful and prosperous future for Russia is possible - but only when Russia loses its war of imperial conquest.
This European roadmap is realistic and can be implemented immediately. We must finally give up the illusion that time is on our side. Europe cannot defeat Putin with verbal condemnation, rigid political communication and bureaucracy. Every month we hesitate costs lives, destroys infrastructure, and weakens trust in Europe.
If we act now, we can turn the tide, and we can do it before the end of this year. If we act boldly and quickly, we can lay the foundations for a just and lasting peace.
Then Grandma Lyuba of Konstantinovka and her friends could see her children and grandchildren return, life and hope return to her city, and growth, innovation, creativity, and prosperity replace brute force and senseless destruction.
This is the free Europe we want – and we can win it now.