It may be hard to believe, but Russia’s war in Ukraine is entering its fifth month of conflict, marking an important yet grim milestone in global history.
The world’s support for Ukraine must remain strong and unwavering unlike in previous conflicts in order to hold Russia accountable.
Throughout the course of Russia’s invasion, much of the world has united in solidarity with the Ukrainian government and its people, collectively sending unprecedented amounts of desperately needed humanitarian and military aid in an effort to defeat Russian forces.
Make no mistake, the global aid response to Ukraine’s plight changed the course of the invasion. What Russia thought would be an easy military win turned into a never-ending nightmare that saw the tables turn unexpectedly in Ukraine’s favor.
We as a democratic society must continue to oppose Russian aggression.
The truth is, sanctions and boycotts against Russia will only be effective if they remain consistent for the duration of the war. This means that Western nations that have imposed harsh restrictions on Russian finances must continue to enforce such policies until Vladimir Putin and his forces leave Ukraine for good.
Lifting or expiring such sanctions and boycotts while Russia is still invading Ukraine would demonstrate that Western nations were never serious about defending Ukraine in its time of need, allowing for the war crimes Russia is committing to go unpunished.
We’ve seen this happen during past Russian aggressions such as the invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In these cases, Western countries such as the U.S. and Germany gradually normalized relations with Russia and welcomed Vladimir Putin back onto the world stage as those conflicts faded into history.
Russia ultimately signed lucrative energy and trade agreements with the West that would effectively render the sanctions placed upon Russia at the beginning of these conflicts useless.
Because of this, Russia was essentially left unpunished for unlawfully invading and attacking its neighbouring countries, emboldening Putin and his army to invade Ukraine again in 2022 with the assumption that Russia would escape punishment just as it had in the past.
Western nations responsible for forgiving Russia for its past treachery must ensure Russia’s days of invading other countries are over once and for all.
The sanctions and boycotts already placed upon Russia should not fade away over time as they have in so many instances before and Russia must be punished more aggressively if they decide to continue the invasion further into the future.
While the Western world cannot undo the injustices of the past, it can and must act now to make sure that no more blood is spilled on European soil by invading Russian occupiers.
Feature image by Daria Maystruk
