The invasion of Ukraine: Putin's war on everything

Less than two weeks ago, the Chancellor said in Moscow that war had become unthinkable for his generation.

Scholz did not speak for the Russian President who was standing next to him.

Putin has planned a war of aggression and conquest against Ukraine, prepared it with propaganda and started it on Thursday, which has shaken and changed Europe like no other act of violence since Hitler's attacks.

This invasion is not just an attack on a “brother nation” whose state denies Putin the right to exist.

With its tanks, the Kremlin is attacking the entire state order in Europe, international law and reason.

Putin is waging a war in Ukraine against everything that is sacred to western democracies.

The West has proved itself to be a paper tiger too many times

Europeans and Americans therefore have no choice but to resort to the sanctions, which are also painful for themselves, and which Putin had been threatened with in an emergency.

It is not to be expected that these measures will deter the Kremlin from pursuing its war aims.

But more than ever, the credibility of the West is at stake.

He has too often shown himself to be a paper tiger to the Kremlin.

Anyone who asks how much one's own fault for this catastrophe is, which is a German specialty, shouldn't follow Putin's propaganda, but rather look at the appeasement of the past few years.

But will the “full solidarity” that Scholz promised Ukraine also include military assistance?

Arms deliveries, for which politicians who previously categorically rejected them are now also in favor, would make little difference.

Ukraine certainly cannot count on a relief army from the West, and not just because the Bundeswehr is “more or less empty,” as the army inspector said.

Even when Putin was only talking about maneuvers, the West ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine.

Nobody wanted and wants to risk NATO being drawn into a war with Russia on Ukrainian soil.

However, as with the occupation of Crimea, Putin pointed to his nuclear arsenal, the full range of which he had demonstrated a few days ago.

The demonstrative opening of the nuclear umbrella was also part of the preparations for this war.

Kiev will have to fight alone

As things stand, Kiev will have to fight the Russian invaders alone.

It is not to be seen how the Ukrainians could withstand the attack of the Russian army, which was also upgraded with German money from the gas business.

After that, a new Iron Curtain threatens to come down on the western borders of Ukraine and Belarus.

The Chancellor spoke of a terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe.

It won't stop with this one day.

The darkness will last for years, maybe even decades.

The countries west of the new demarcation line between democracy and dictatorship in Europe are also facing difficult times.

The economy and prosperity will suffer, with all the consequences that this has for the state and society.

What also seemed unthinkable to many can happen at any time: that Putin turns off the gas tap.

German energy policy must be reconsidered immediately.

In this situation, can we really shut down the last nuclear power plants?

Now is the time to deter Putin from even greater madness

However, the main task of German and Western politics is to make it clear to Putin in his power frenzy that NATO would actually defend every inch of the alliance's territory - with everything it has to do so.

The West now knows what it ca

stop the Kremlin: it clearly doesn't care about the severe economic damage that Putin is inflicting on his own country in his rush to power.

Anyone who wants to deter this warlord from an even greater act of insanity must credibly threaten him with sanctions that could mean the end of his regime and himself.

Putin not only thought the unthinkable, he did it.

The West, especially Germany, must never forget that again.