When historians study us sometime in the future, they will analyze not our statements and promises but the decisions we made and the actions we took. Were we able to prevent Russia's war on Ukraine from engulfing all Europe? Could Russian President Vladimir Putin have been stopped? Was there a chance to tame this new chaos and return to a world governed by rules? Did we turn a blind eye to the obvious?
Have we made fatal mistakes?
The United States' incoming president, Donald Trump, has pledged "peace through strength," giving hope not only to Ukraine but to other countries that live under threat by totalitarian regimes.
After World War II, the U.S. took on the role of global policeman, dedicated to preserving a rules-based system. Ukraine joined this liberal world order after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In December 1994, Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum giving up its arsenal of nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances about the security of our state.
It was an agreement based on high ideals—and it failed. Russia, one of the signatories to the memorandum, annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014. But that was merely the beginning. Putin started a full-scale war by invading the main body of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
It is clear we have arrived at a turning point in history. Will the world's policeman once again assert order? Or will chaos prevail?
No one on this planet is born for war, but everyone must be ready to fight back against aggression. The enemy is on our land, and we Ukrainians are forced to fight for our lives, our freedom, and our values. This war is an existential one. If Russia wins, Ukraine as we have known it would disappear from the Earth. Our resources would go to the enemy, making them stronger and more insatiable.
The free world has had difficulty finding those who are ready to fight for freedom, to defend the continent from the danger to the East at the cost of their own lives. The last 11 years, only Ukraine has stood up, willing to pay the price of freedom with our lives.
War is indeed expensive, but defeat is even more expensive and shameful.
Look at America's defeat in Afghanistan after 20 years and$825 billion spent on military components—another $130 billion went to civilian recovery projects.
The price of helping Ukraine has not been cheap. As late 2024, the U.S.'s total funding for Ukraine is $175 billion. That includes money for everything from refugees to the latest weaponry.
Frozen Russian assets are worth far more. Using this money to purchase weapons for Ukraine fits neatly into the president-elect's mantra of peace through strength. An aggressor should understand that even their own resources will be turned against them. It would also relieve some of the financial pressure on Ukraine's benefactors.
No one wants this war to end more than Ukrainians. But only a just peace can truly end, rather than freeze, the conflict.
So, what will victory require?
- Arms
Sufficient weapons must be provided even before they are needed. Ukraine needed at least 300 tanks, 600 to 700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers on the front lines on Feb. 23, 2022, when the war began, according to then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Ukraine did not get what it needed, and the world has seen the results. Our partners' approach of providing just as much as they believe is needed just moments before it is needed is insufficient.
Aid provided too late and with imposed limits on the use of the weapons given have damaged Ukraine's ability to fight. If in the first six months of the war, when we were driving Russia back and liberating our lands, Ukraine had received all the weapons we needed on time, we would be in a different situation now. The Defense Forces of Ukraine have shown this is true in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. Russia and its military are capable of terrorizing others but cannot defend their own territory. Russia's failure to protect Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria is another example of its limitations.
- Destruction Russia's economy and resources
Sanctionsintroduced against the Russian Federationafter its troops crossed into Ukrainian territory were truly unprecedented. Unfortunately, they have not been as effective as hoped. In fact, Russia laughs at the fact that the European Union and the U.S. are paying for this war on the one hand while allowing Russia to sell what it needs to pay for its own side. Oil flows to U.S. friends and enemies despite "sanctions" imposed by the West, as does Russian grain. The EU has recently adopted the 15th package of sanctions, without making the previous 14 work.
How can Ukraine win this fight with indecisive and half-hearted allies? It can't.
It is time to remind the world that Ukraine is hardly the Kremlin's only target. Hybrid warfare and disinformation campaigns are targeting all the world's democracies. A Ukrainian victory is a blow for freedom everywhere.
History is calling. Will Ukraine's friends act?
Kira Rudik is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and leader of the Golos Party.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
