The death toll continues to rise as Russia carries on with its brutal war in Ukraine, with more sights of massacres revealed every day. But they all pale in comparison to the harm inflicted on innocent civilians in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
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Given this context, the reports that Russia was using chemical weapons in Mariupol surprise no one. True or not, Moscow has long crossed all red lines – using banned ammunition, killing prisoners, deliberately targeting civilian facilities, especially hospitals, and more. As long as the perpetrators go unpunished, their gull will only increase.
But Russian President Vladimir's Putin aggression has also brought down a different kind of "victim" – the notion that any dispute can be resolved through negotiations and compromise. This paradigm became obsolete the moment Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine.
Europe has come to realize that might is the only thing that will protect liberty from Kremlin-style threats, attacks, and tyranny. For now, it is an initial, limited and belated recognition, but it is nonetheless preferable to the continued blindness the West has clung to over the past few decades, leading to its helplessness in the face of almost any threat.
Sweden and Finland's willingness to join the NATO military alliance speaks for itself. Both have until now thought the Kremlin could be appeased through concessions. But after Putin demonstrated that he has no intention of backing down, Stockholm and Helsinki made an about face.
A country that wishes to protect its independence and security must have a large military power and the willingness to use it. Israeli weapons could be helpful as well, which is why Sweden and Finland have procured blue-and-white military systems.
Signs of a similar change could also be observed with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who said a few days ago that the war between Russia and Ukraine would be "won on the battlefield."
This was the same Borrell who always "lectures" Israel that it must resolve conflicts through negotiations, demanding the country give up and reconcile with terrorist organizations, instead of fighting them. The same Borrell chooses to disregard the Iranian nuclear threat, just as he disregarded the intensification of Putin's tyrannical regime.
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