Three years of Ukrainian sacrifice bought Europe time. Europe is spending it on excuses. Europe is watching Ukraine slowly bleed to death—and making excuses for why it cannot act.

Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Moscow’s expansion of its hybrid confrontation with the West have upended and reshaped the security environment on the European continent. This dramatic crisis has also created a historic moment of opportunity for Kyiv to assert its international agency.

Ukraine must formalize its moral leadership as the main defender of freedom in the world against the vicious aggressive plans of Moscow and a new axis of destructive power which is taking shape in the world. The time has come to consolidate by political and legal means Ukraine’s role as the eastern pillar of Europe’s defence against the greatest threat to its peaceful future.