Commenting on the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" said in its editorial today, Wednesday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has tested the determination of the West and exposed its weakness, as he revealed that the European Union's allegations about its role in foreign policy are unfounded. Health, while the French magazine Le Point considered that the Russian president lost his bet.

In its analysis, the "Daily Telegraph" indicated a great split in the positions of European leaders on the current crisis, as some of them preferred to adopt a policy that amounts to calming Moscow, while others sought to support Ukraine's right to self-determination.

As for the position of the United States - and the words of the Daily Telegraph - it was strong rhetorically, but it is not ready to do much except warn of devastating sanctions that it will impose on Russia if it invades Ukraine, which the Kremlin claims it is not afraid of.

The Daily Telegraph said that the irony is that Putin does not have the strength he claims, as Russia is in economic and demographic decline compared to the rest of the world.

His excesses also pushed many of his neighbors closer to the West.

Nevertheless, two main factors compel democratic countries to take President Putin seriously, are the strength of the Russian army and the Kremlin's reckless disregard for international norms, according to this British newspaper.


Is Putin victorious over the West?

And the Daily Telegraph pointed out in its editorial that Putin can claim victory in the current crisis, as in addition to the division of the West over the crisis, it seems that Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

And Kiev has now realized how poorly its Western allies are willing to support it, and its economy has been damaged by the fear of war.

The newspaper concluded that the worst of all of the above is that there are little indications that any of the Western countries are willing to address the weaknesses that enabled Putin to intimidate the West, as NATO member states still invest little in defense, and Western peoples still lack the courage needed to confront the forces of tyranny.

The Daily Telegraph said that even if the parties managed to avoid engaging in armed conflict now, there are no guarantees that the Kremlin will not repeat this "hoax" scenario again.

geopolitical awakening

Contrary to what the Telegraph said in its editorial, the French magazine Le Point considered that the Ukrainian crisis pushed the Europeans to a geopolitical awakening and revived NATO and gave it a new breath, contrary to what the Kremlin master had hoped.

In its editorial by Luc de Barocchi, the magazine said that the Ukraine crisis exposed Vladimir Putin's miscalculations.

By massing more than 130,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, he said, Putin had united Western countries, just as he had done at the height of the Cold War.

The writer highlighted that this crisis stimulated NATO, and gave it a new reason to exist after it had been hidden since the disappearance of the Soviet Union 30 years ago.


He pointed out that Putin, by doing this, encouraged the Americans to re-invest in Europe, while they have been trying for more than 15 years to rid themselves of it to focus on the Chinese challenge.

The writer stressed that the Russian president has reconstructed the unity of the Europeans in their strictness and firmness towards Russia, in addition to pushing a large majority of Ukrainians to turn more towards the West and strengthening their conviction that it is impossible to coexist with Moscow as long as this president is in power in Moscow.

However, Barushi somewhat agreed with what was stated in the editorial of the Telegraph, in the opinion that the unity shown by the Westerners towards this crisis is fragile, and that the United States remains focused on its game with China and sees in Russia only a secondary problem to it.

The prospect of Donald Trump or one of his supporters returning to power in Washington in January 2025 weighs on the cohesion of this Western alliance.

The lesson of this crisis, Barocci concluded, is that in the face of a major military challenge, Europe is still not entirely able to guarantee its collective protection if Washington does not play the role of the leader, which shows the enormity of the work that remains to be done to build a European defense worthy of the name , According to him.