Open letter to European politicians
«Kill the German… As many times as you see him, as many times as you kill him!» — These words were written by a Soviet classicist exactly 80 years ago. Today a member of the Ukrainian Parliament — Rada — repeated them almost verbatim in a live broadcast: «Kill the Russian soldier! Wherever you meet him — kill him! He came to your land to kill you!».
It is not 80 years between these words, it is 80 years of completely failed policies of the democracies towards the USSR, and Russia. A civilisation placed on Europe’s eastern frontiers, denies Europe the right to exist. It is doing so openly, visibly, not only in word but also in deed: it kills, murders, commits war crimes and corruption all in Europe it touches.
Today in Ukraine, Europe’s policy towards Russia has reached its logical conclusion: a new great war has started in Europe.
That is exactly what Europe has promised will never come again.
But Europe has encouraged Russia to take this last step.
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 1990 when the latter started a war against Moldova;
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 1994 when the latter attacked Chechnya;
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 1999 when it launched a second war against Chechnya;
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 2007 when Putin declared openly, to the world, his intention to redraw Europe’s borders;
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 2008 when Georgia was attacked;
Europe had a chance to stop Russia in 2014 when Ukraine was attacked and finally,
Europe had eight years to end the war in eastern Ukraine.
Europe did not take any of those chances.
The Russian market, Russian energy, Russian metals, investments in the Russian economy were the arguments that made Europe turn a blind eye to the new reality emerging from the East. This reality burst into Europe at 5am this morning.
In 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, then still only a contender for the Ukrainian presidency, said that ending the war is simple: «One just have to stop shooting». The prescription turned out to be ineffective. But if we transfer this formula to European soil, there is some logic in this simplicity: European politicians, in order to stop Russia, should simply stop lying.
To lie to themselves and to all of us.
Because it is a lie to trade with a civilization that openly states that its goal is our destruction, and to justify itself with the fact that such trade is just business and nothing else; it is a lie to turn a blind eye to the fact that Russia spends the money from trade with Europe exclusively on strengthening its army and building new armaments.
Today Europe has perhaps the last chance left to save the world from destruction.
It is very simple to do so.
We just have to stop lying.
Irina Birna, writer
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