Yaroslav Bazylevych came to the Hague at the end of January and paid the witnesses – The worst day of his life To attract West's attention again.
In September, a Russian polar missile torested his home in Lviv, Ukraine, and instantly killed his wife Yeffenya and three daughters, Jarina, Darya and Emilija. No matter how deeply you try to empathize, no one can understand such losses.
Bazylevych is for telling his story is, if we are willing to see the true and vicious nature of Russian attacks. For a while, Americans and Europeans may feel the enormous violence that Russia exerts on Ukrainians. So we ultimately “Never Again” is not a phrase we recite in our speech; Sacred Responsibility. Until then, life begins with clear approval. Ending the war of conquest never comes to the hands of the victims.
When the murderer Announces the intention to kill himthen you can plunge into your home and do just that. The only way a victim can “bring peace” is to die quietly. Ukraine refuses war every day. The problem is that the invaders have not refused to kill them.
Three years after the full-scale Russian invasion, we remain trapped in a postmodern discomfort with “bilateralism” and moral clarity. The battle in Ukraine is righteous. And Russia, which launched an unprovoked war, is not worthy of defeat.
During the Cold War, Soviet Russia posed a direct threat to the United States, and its nuclear Arsenal warped the capabilities of Russia today. But the United States, led by President Ronald Reagan, stood firm. What Neville Chamberlain couldn't grasp is something Reagan understood – Strength prevents warsoftens them while causing them.
The lesson remains the same. Not because Russia feels threatened, but because it recognizes weakness and division. The endless Western concessions only made Moscow bold. After Georgia in 2008, it was too little after Crimea in 2014, diplomatically obscured the MH17 down.
Each time, I sent a message: Attacks pay. And each time, Russia took it as a down payment in the next war.
The free world has little understanding of what Russia is. It's not a country with profits, it's an empire that is obsessed with conquest. From the Caucasus to Crimea, from the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean, Moscow became enriched by looting others.
Unlike other colonial times, Russia never faced calculations. The collapse of the Soviets did not end the Russian Empire project, but only suspend it. Now, the Kremlin is working on it again, taking ruthless and intentional violence in the language of complaints and branding colonization as “uniform.”
President Donald Trump has Pledge “Ensure peace through strength.” If he means that, he must ensure that Ukraine wins. It's not a negotiated surrender. It is not a pause before the next invasion. victory.
Some treat non-zero opportunities in nuclear war as the ultimate argument. This is a way to end all the discussion. But the problem with this framing is that it is always true. The greater concern we refuse to face is what happens if we let our responses direct.
Moscow already rattles its nuclear sabers and now lives in a world where its threats are being put into effect. If we fall into it, we cannot prevent nuclear conflict, but we will make it even more possible.
Walking away with anything similar to victory, Russia rewrites the rules of global security and crushes the doctrine of nuclear non-proliferation. It's not a question of when the next crisis will be.
Moscow is bleeding Beijing is watching. Chinese President Xi Jinping is studying all the movements of Russia's war. He learned what the Kremlin could endure, what the West would tolerate, and where the cracks were formed.
That's the case with Russia's economy wobblethe ruble is in a free fall, and Moscow is reducing social spending to run war machinery. India has Taking advantage of Russia's despair After his divorce from Europe, he snapped cheap oil, coal and fertilizers while setting 90% of his trade in local currency. Now, both India and China are I'm on alert – Stop Russian oil purchases in March as banks fear sanctions.
What happens next in Ukraine is not to stay in Ukraine. If the Kremlin benefits from the attack, XI will take his lesson. Strength now shapes the balance of power not only in Ukraine's future, but for the next few years.
It's time to spend Russia's stolen wealth. The $300 billion frozen Russia assets remain undeveloped and are not yet equipped. As Neil Ferguson and Chris Miller Discussedthese funds should be seized to rebuild Ukraine, as German assets were used after World War II. This isn't just practical – it's just for nothing.
Our previous choice is strength or surrender, moral courage or reconciliation. Ignoring Yaroslav Bazylevych's grief, will the stolen future of his daughter be rejected?
If you cannot summon the will to act for Ukraine, you must do so for America. Unreliable abilities are not deterrents, they are grotesque charades. Now hesitant, the enemy of America will stop taking us seriously.
Ukraine did its part. It's time for America to do the same thing.
Andrew Chakhoyan is Academic Director At the University of Amsterdam. He previously worked for the US government at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and studied at Harvard Kennedy School and Donetsk State Tech University.
