Undefeated Russia. Is Europe Ready to Foot the Bill?
Despite two years of strong Ukrainian resistance and the support of both the European Union and the United States, Russia remains resolute in its mission to dismantle Ukrainian sovereignty and assert dominance over its western neighbour.
The specter of a mythical escalation has haunted the West and negatively affected its willingness to provide Ukraine with sufficient assistance to decisively defeat the aggressor.
But what if we reframed the problem, moving away from the speculative possibility of escalation, and instead tried to assess the potential consequences of failing to defeat Russia?
If Moscow were to emerge from this conflict with a sense of a triumph, what implications would it hold for Europe? What short- and long-term political and economic costs would fall on us - the European Union and NATO members? Is the European public ready to pay the tax accumulated due to indecision and procrastination? And what should be our policy in order to avoid the threats arising from an undefeated Russia?
These questions were answered by the guests at the debate:
moderator: Ernest Wyciszkiewicz (Mieroszewski Centre),
participants: Nona Mikhelidze (Istituto Affari Internazionali) // Keir Giles (Chatham House) // Mart Kuldkepp (University College London).
Live broadcast of the event is available here.
fot. Philippe Veldeman
