Tear down the wall of restrictions we have built around Ukraine – POLITICO

Now let's remove these restrictions.

I repeat what I said in my speech to the UN General Assembly last month: We may continue to condemn Russia's brutal atrocities, but without effective action against the violence, history will be the one to condemn us. And I agree with former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when he said we could have provided military support to Ukraine before 2022 and perhaps prevented this war.

I have been to Ukraine three times since this conflict began. On my last trip, just a month ago, I visited a power plant reduced to rubble by rockets fired from Russia and thought: What deliberate brutality. Another war crime aimed at breaking the endurance of Ukrainians and leaving them without electricity in the winter, which in urban areas also means no running water or plumbing and no opportunity to go to work or school .

When it comes to realizing its imperialist ambitions in Ukraine and Europe, Russia does not care about the costs – be it in terms of money or lives. We must make it clear to Russia that no country can ever impose its will on its neighbors through war. And that means Russia cannot win this war.

In June 1987, US President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in West Berlin in which he made a simple but urgent appeal to the barrier guards: “Tear down this wall!” And two and a half years later, on November 9, 1989, the Berliners did it.

Decades later, paradoxically, we have built a wall ourselves, forcing Ukraine to fight behind it, preventing it from being subjected to new Russian attacks and suffering more casualties every day.

To paraphrase Reagan: I appeal to all of us: Let's tear down this wall of restrictions!