European unity needed to counter Putin

TODAY, Europe is on the verge of war. Military conflict is no longer an unlikely scenario. It is a real option. For many generations of young Poles and Europeans, this is the closest they will have come to seeing such a scenario play out. For years, the West has wanted to believe that the 21st century would be free of armed confrontation. Recent years, however, have provided sufficient evidence that Russia's aggressive actions, including in Georgia and Ukraine, are not an illusion but rather a sign that a new chapter is opening in the history of the West.

Russia is trying to violate Ukraine's territorial integrity once again. Questioning the borders of a sovereign state can only mean one thing: an assault on European stability and security. The world as we know it - the world of European values, freedoms, democracy, and welfare - has been targeted by Russia's political and military leadership. It is not just the future of Ukraine that is at stake, but also the security and economic prosperity of Europe. This is the greatest political crisis since the end of the Cold War and is a direct challenge to the principles adopted by the Euro-Atlantic Community in the years following 1989.

Examining our conscience