Sami Kuusela

Russian drones flying into Poland during the massive attack on Ukraine show that Putin’s sense of impunity keeps growing because he was not properly punished for his previous crimes. Putin just keeps escalating, expanding his war, and testing the West. The longer he faces no strength in response, the more aggressive he gets. A weak response now will provoke Russia even more—and then Russian missiles and drones will fly even further into Europe. This situation shows that finally the decision needs to be taken to enable partner air defense capabilities in neighbouring countries to be used to intercept drones and missiles in the Ukrainian air space, including those approaching NATO borders. Ukraine has suggested such step for a long time. It needs to be taken for the sake of collective security. This is also a call for partners to urgently strengthen Ukraine’s air defense and better protect against a growing number of Russian drones and missiles attacking us on the regular basis. Furthermore, sanctions must be ramped up without delay. Putin will only get serious about peace negotiations when he faces serious transatlantic pressure. The Russian War Machine must be stopped—and it can only be stopped by strength, not weakness.