Turkish President R. Erdogan stated on July 7th that Ukraine has the right to join NATO. The war initiated by Russia has dispelled any illusions about the Kremlin's peaceful intentions. Putin no longer acts with reason: Russia is seeking total war with the ultimate goal of destroying the West. NATO, as a key military organization of the modern world, must respond to the Russian threat. If Ukraine does not receive real security guarantees with subsequent membership in the Alliance, Europe will face a war with Russia, which has the potential to escalate into a nuclear conflict
After a year and a half of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, it is no longer concealed that the initial vague formulation of "self-determination" implied the annexation of Ukraine. Putin prepared for this war for years, combining military, economic, and informational preparations for the impending occupation, which would undoubtedly face rejection from the Western world. In contrast to the soft and already completed occupation of Belarus, which became a base and testing ground for the Russian army, Putin had a different fate in mind for Ukraine. In the Kremlin's perception, the most developed part of the former USSR should fully integrate into Russia, similar to the annexation of Crimea, to prevent its future loss. Thus, the Armed Forces of Ukraine prevented the greatest military tragedy in Europe, which would have been accompanied by genocide and deportation based on nationality.
The war in Ukraine is a common threat to the West. Russia is preparing the same scenario for Europe that is being tested on the battlefield in Donbass. Concessions to Putin lead to the opposite result: Russia perceives the peaceful intentions of the West as weakness, signaling territorial seizures.
The NATO Summit in Vilnius is a chance to rectify the historical mistake made in Bucharest in 2008 when Ukraine and Georgia were denied Membership Action Plans (MAP). A few months later, Putin initiated a cycle of wars that continue to this day. One can draw an analogy between the NATO Summit in Bucharest and the Munich Conference in 1938, where leading European countries held a similar position and made concessions to Hitler, which became a prelude to World War II. If the Vilnius Summit fails to produce concrete steps that provide Ukraine with security guarantees, Europe stands a chance of facing a Third World War.
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