The future world order is being decided on the battlefield in Ukraine

The West is not "funding the war" in Ukraine, but is preventing the genocide of the Ukrainian people and the global defeat of freedom and democratic values

February 24th will be two years since Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. This moment shook our belief that a large, open war in Europe was no longer conceivable.

From day one of Russia's all-out armed invasion of Ukraine, this war has been about two things: Ukraine's willingness to fight, and Ukraine's partners' willingness to support this fight. In the two years that have passed, the Ukrainian army has shown the ability to inflict huge losses on the aggressor and even force him to flee. Adequately equipped, Ukrainian defenders can destroy Russian occupation forces. Ukraine's resilience remains unchanged. The West must be ready to give Ukraine what it needs to win.

At the same time, the leaders and politicians of a number of European countries make statements about the real possibility of extending Russian armed aggression to other neighboring countries. We must emphasize that such statements were not created on an empty basis. Currently, the Russian Federation is betting on the so-called "long game" in its war. The Kremlin is deliberately wearing down Europe in order to force it to make concessions. First of all, at the expense of Ukraine. Both of territorial and political character. And then - to concessions at the expense of other countries.

It is quite obvious that this represents an immediate and completely understandable threat to the entire European security architecture, the whole of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community as such. Moreover, there is currently an increase in military aid to Russia from its partners, primarily North Korea and Iran. The transfer of missile weapons by North Korea to the Russian Federation is a direct violation of the relevant UN resolutions. It should be noted that the main instrument of war prevention - the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe - actually ceased to operate due to the final withdrawal of the Russian Federation from that Treaty on November 7, 2023. Therefore, thanks to the Russian imperialist aggression against Ukraine, the danger of a major war on the territory of Europe of the continent has become real again.

At the cost of enormous efforts and sacrifices, Ukraine took the brunt of the Russian invader and persevered, continuing the bitter struggle for survival. Some politicians, who are trying to impose the narrative of "weariness of the war in Ukraine", should remember that while our European partners provide material aid to Ukraine, the Ukrainian people pay for the defense of independence, freedom and democratic European values ​​with their own blood. Given this circumstance, those citizens who are still hesitating about the expediency of providing material and military aid to Ukraine should understand that it is now much more profitable to support the Ukrainian army than to experience a direct military threat from an aggressive Russia.

The Czech Republic is one of the main supporters of Ukraine on the bilateral level and within international organizations. In addition to ongoing political and security support, it advocates the continuation of urgent humanitarian and stabilization aid. He knows that Ukraine defends not only itself, but also all of us in the Czech Republic, Europe and the entire democratic world. For the Czech Republic, Russia represents a fundamental threat to security, freedom and democracy, as well as its anchoring in transatlantic structures.

In addition, the Czech Republic received one of the largest numbers of Ukrainian citizens (primarily children, women and the elderly) who were forced to flee from Russian aggression. In this sense, the Czech Republic is quite close to Montenegro. As we know, since the beginning of Russian armed aggression, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes. Over 380.000 Ukrainians found shelter in the Czech Republic alone. They quickly became an active part of Czech society, and more than 100.000 of them work in the Czech Republic today, so no one has to worry that the Czech Republic is helping them at the expense of its citizens.

As a responsible member of NATO, the Czech Republic ensures the security of its allies, supports Ukraine as long as it is necessary and strives to conduct a common policy within the EU and NATO towards Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Czech Republic pursues such a policy not only to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but also in the interest of an international order based on clear rules.

The International Criminal Court is investigating the situation in Ukraine, focusing on war crimes and crimes against humanity within its jurisdiction. The Czech Republic also supports the initiative to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression committed by the highest representatives of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The Czech Republic also strongly supports the sanctions against Russia, which are unprecedented in terms of speed of adoption, breadth of scope, impact on Russia and number of participants. Sanctions against the Russian Federation must be strengthened until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine.

Putin started this war and can end it immediately. But Putin is not going for peace. Russia occupies large areas of Ukraine, continues its daily barbaric attacks on infrastructure and civilian targets.

Therefore, in this war, which will obviously not end quickly, Ukraine will need further consistent support from all partners. If we are really interested in preserving and strengthening the security architecture in Europe, then we have no right to waste precious time discussing the expediency or impracticality of military aid to Ukraine, whose population shows daily what the struggle for freedom, independence and democratic values ​​means in a practical dimension. We cannot agree with the argument about the so-called "war fatigue", especially considering the previous war experience. It is obvious that the Russian aggression against Ukraine is significantly different from other previous conflicts. Ukraine does not need "national building" or the conviction that freedom is worth fighting for. Ukrainians are ready to fight for freedom until the end. For our freedom and yours. What the Western partners are doing in Ukraine is not "financing the war", but preventing the genocide of the Ukrainian people and the global defeat of freedom and democracy.

Obviously, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the future world order is being decided on the battlefield in Ukraine. And Ukraine should not be alone in this fierce struggle. That is why, thanks to the sincere support, primarily military and technical, of friends and allies like the Czech Republic, the Ukrainian people continue their struggle and believe in the inevitability of their victory. In the inevitability of the triumph of freedom over tyranny.