Why Does the Victory of Ukraine Mean Victory for Europe?

In the ninth year of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the year of the full-scale invasion, the West understood what Ukraine has been talking about for a long time: the unpunished aggressor returns with new aggression. With impunity for its invasion of Georgia in 2008, Russia annexed Crimea and began hostilities in eastern Ukraine in 2014. There was no sufficient punishment then, and on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

If we do not give the aggressor a decent rebuff now, we can only guess which country will be the next victim of Russian aggression. Each Russian attack on Ukraine shocks the world. But are condemnations, promises of weapons, and sanctions enough to stop the Kremlin’s terror?

Your safety and ours

During the massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine on February 10, 2023, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a Russian missile crossed Romanian airspace. After the missile attack on February 16, 2023, the remnants of a Russian missile fell for the fourth time on the territory of Moldova. On November 15, 2022, during a Russian attack, one of the missiles hit a farm in Poland, killing two people. What kind of missile it was — Russian or Ukrainian air defense — is still being determined.

Russian military aircraft regularly violate the airspace of NATO countries. It is becoming quite obvious that the Russian Federation is provoking the Alliance. Russian propaganda has been telling the domestic consumer for a long time that it is waging war with NATO,  because losing to Ukraine is banally shameful for ”great” Russia. And no one knows for sure where the Kremlin can go with its provocations. The only way out of this is to stop Russia in Ukraine right now.

Your money and ours

According to various estimates, the drop in the Ukrainian economy during a full-scale invasion is 33%-35%. Losses from this war, according to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, exceed $700 billion. Our state is unable to survive this economic downturn on its own, and we need donor funds every month. Currently, international financial aid makes up 55% of the financing of the Ukrainian budget.

Finland is already preparing the 13th aid package for Ukraine and we are very grateful. Although we understand very well that the partners’ financial resources are not endless. According to analysts’ forecasts, 2023 will be the third worst year in terms of economic indicators in the 21st century.

Your future and ours

According to the latest data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, about 4.5 million Ukrainian forced migrants are registered in European countries. There are approximately 40,000 of them in Finland, and this country automatically extended their protection for another year. We are grateful for this shelter, but Ukrainians dream of returning home, rebuilding their country, and making it a full member of the EU and NATO.

Finland is now on its way to NATO, which it decided to join a month after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukraine also connects its future and security with the Alliance.

Finland knows what Russian aggression is like since the Winter War of 1939-1940. Then the Finns showed great heroism and resilience against the enemy, who outnumbered them. But at that time, Finland lacked international help and support, and, unfortunately, the horde could not be defeated with heroism alone. Ukraine appeals to the world not to repeat this mistake again. Ukrainians need weapons: armored vehicles, ammunition, and long-range missiles. We are grateful to the work done by Anders in the Finnish Parliament  for the appeal to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. Every vote is important in the supply of weapons, so we are thankful to our friends from ALDE and SFP in Finland.

Today, Ukraine is protecting the whole of Europe from Russian aggression, and we need tools to make this protection effective today. Otherwise, there may be a new aggression tomorrow.

Kira  Rudik

Member of Ukraine’s parliament, leader of Golos party, ALDE vice-president 

(Published in my election magazine 2023