When Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine, he wasn't the only one who thought victory would come soon.. Many Western analysts expected Kyiv to fall in 72 hours. Ukrainian valor and ingenuity destroyed these calculations. The war is now in its sixth week.. And the winning side is Ukraine, not Russia.

The Economist writes about this, adding that the Ukrainian victory will “rewrite the map of European security”. Speaking to journalists of the publication on March 25 in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that popular strength is the secret of Ukrainian resistance and the reason why the course of the war is changing in favor of the Ukrainian side..

" Here is our home, our land, our independence. It's only a matter of time,"

The battlefield confirms the words of the Ukrainian president. After several weeks, during which the Russian offensive was stopped, the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive.. On March 29, Russia announced that it would drastically reduce its campaign in the north. This retreat can be tactical. But in any case, Russia actually admitted that now it cannot capture Kyiv. At the same time, a significant part of Ukraine remains in Russian hands, in particular, a strip of land along the coast in the south. Moscow now claims that capturing these territories was its goal from the very beginning.. A significant part of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass is at risk of being surrounded. No one should underestimate Russian firepower.

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Despite the fact that Moscow's troops are exhausted and demoralized, they can dig in. For Ukraine, the victory will be the preservation of the integrity of their brigades in the Donbas, which could be used to prevent Russia from holding the occupied territories. To do this, Zelensky said, the West must impose tougher sanctions on Russia and transfer even more weapons, including planes and tanks.. Sanctions make it impossible for Moscow to support a long war. Weapons help Ukraine retake territory. But NATO countries refuse to give Kiev what it asks for.

Given what is at stake for both the West and Ukraine, such stubbornness reveals a lack of strategic vision.. In the Ukrainian case, a clear victory would mean that there would be no new invasion in the future.. The more convincing the Ukrainian army will force out the Russian one, the more Kyiv will be able to resist compromises that will poison the world.. The victory will also be a good basis for the development of a post-war democratic country that will not be corrupted by oligarchs and Russian influence..

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For the West, victory will also be no less reward. Ukraine could not only breathe life into democracy, but also strengthen security in Europe. In 300 years of imperialism, Russia has again and again unleashed wars against Europe.. Sometimes, as in the case of conflicts with Poland and Finland, she was an invader. Sometimes, as in the days of Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, she was the victim of aggression. A Strong, Democratic Ukraine Will Suppress Russian Expansionism. Because her borders will be protected. In the short term, the evil and failed dictator will continue to sit in the Kremlin. But in the end, Russia will follow in the footsteps of Ukraine and begin to solve its own problems through reform, and not through military adventures abroad.. In this case, NATO will not have to lose too large budgets and diplomatic resources. The US will be able to focus on its confrontation with China.

But while the West does not want to notice this historical chance. America is playing its role as a leader, as it should, although it vetoed the sending of planes to Ukraine. But Germany is taking a short-sighted stance on sanctions, teetering between pressure from allies and public opinion against maintaining trade ties with a Russia that largely satisfies oil and gas needs.. French President Emmanuel Macron, in turn, argued that sending the heavy weapons that Ukraine needs would turn Western allies into " Zelenskiy says such position is either short-sighted or cowardly. The Economist agrees with Ukrainian president.

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Perhaps Germany doubts that Ukraine will be able to get rid of its post-Soviet past. Maidan protests in 2014 established democracy. But the country still could not be cleansed of corruption and inertia. And after the shelling of Russian artillery, the Ukrainian economy will be in ruins. However, the EU can help make sure things are different this time around by starting work on Ukrainian membership right now.. There can hardly be a better way to affirm that since its founding, the aim of the EU has been to bring peace to a continent that has been torn apart by centuries of war.. Bringing governance in Ukraine in line with the EU will be a long and bureaucratic process. The risk is that Brussels itself will pull the Ukrainian process if Europe allows Kiev to join. Instead, the EU should embrace Ukraine vigorously, as it did with Eastern Europe after the fall of Soviet domination in the early 1990s.. This will require generous economic recovery assistance, as well as political support and patience..

Macron voiced another concern: that NATO will provoke Russia. Since the beginning of the war, speaking of “consequences that you have not seen in your entire history,” Putin hinted that he could respond to Western intervention with a nuclear strike.. Therefore, NATO tried to make it clear that it would not fight Russian troops.. Because if it did, the war could get out of control and lead to disastrous consequences.. But permanent retreat because of Putin's nuclear threats is also risky.. Limiting aid to Ukraine will allow Russia to impose an unstable, and therefore temporary, peace on Zelensky. Putin will be thus rewarded for his threats. He will have the basis for preparing his next atomic aggression. At the same time, the transfer of more powerful weapons and tougher sanctions would be a change in the scope of aid, not its type.. This week, because of Ukraine's success, Russia paused its campaign in the north rather than escalating.

Therefore, the best deterrence for NATO is to stand up to Putin's veiled threats, letting him know that a nuclear or chemical crime will lead to the complete isolation of Russia..

War is unpredictable. There are many conflicts in history that should not have lasted long, but dragged on for years.. Ukraine won the first stage by simply holding out. Now he needs to go on the offensive. This means that Zelensky needs double assistance to the West. It will be terrible if the lack of imagination in the capitals of Europe is what prevents a good peace from being established instead of a bad one..