NEWSWATCH Wall Street Journal/Stephen Hadley, Robert Zoellick: Crucial Weapons in the Defense of Ukraine. Without debt reduction and more aid, a young democracy could vanish.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Stephen Hadley and Robert Zoellick address the issue of Western assistance for Ukraine amidst the Russo-Ukrainian War, including financial and debt-related assistance.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an assault on the vision that emerged from the end of the Cold War of a Europe whole, free and at peace. For that vision to be realized, the war against Ukraine must end, and its government must be able to offer its people a secure, prosperous and democratic future. If Ukraine—a country of more than 40 million people—becomes a failed state, the turmoil will spill into the European Union and likely fuel future conflict between Russia and the trans-Atlantic community.
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If Western governments do not stretch to assist—and creditors persist with short-term calculations—the likelihood is high that Ukraine will fall back to the post-Soviet world of authoritarian government and gangster capitalism. An open and prosperous Ukraine will allow opportunity and commerce to flourish, not just within its own borders, but also within the wider region. The vital interests of Ukrainians, other Europeans, Americans and global investors are one and the same. Now is the moment for the U.S. to lead in pressing all the parties to recognize that truth.