JRL NEWSWATCH: “Europe needs to step up support for Ukraine” – The Economist
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“As a long war with Russia looms, American support can no longer be depended on.”
“… [O]nly around 400 square km (154 square miles) of territory had been liberated [in the Ukrainian counteroffensive] …. Russia still occupies about 18% of Ukraine[.] [A]round half … it took in 2014 … annex[ing] Crimea and grabb[ing] the eastern Donbas[.] [T]he rest is … [still occupied amongst] … territory … seized after … February 2022. … Ukraine’s backers must be ready for [a long and grinding war of attrition, as Russia is]. … Putin’s strategy rests on waiting for the West to … tire[] of … an open-ended commitment. A long war plays to his strengths[] [as] [a] brutal dictator … [who] does not worry much about public opinion. Russians … show little sign of turning against the war, despite heavy casualties, in part because a high oil price has blunted the effects of … sanctions…. [I]n Europe[] and … America, the danger looms that voters and policymakers will tire of the burden. … [G7] countries agreed to produce bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine … [N]one has … done so. … Europe will … have to … take on more responsibility for supporting Ukraine …. providing more … direct financial assistance … [and] investing much more heavily in military kit so that Europe can arm Ukraine without leaving itself defenceless. …”
The article also argues that Europe can help Ukraine by expediting Ukrainian membership in and integration into the EU.
In June 2022, the EU formally declared Ukraine to be an EU candidate. The article suggests that EU leaders, at their December summit, should approve the initiation of detailed Ukraine membership negotiations and direct that negotiations not drag on.
Ukraine will be on a stronger footing to hold back Russia and outlast Putin if integrated into the large European economy.