Lhe expression has made its way into the discourse of Western officials since February 24, 2022: the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine is “existential”. The threat posed by this Russia which modifies borders and rewrites history is “existential”. But how is the existential character of a conflict measured? Is this war a little existential? A lot ? And for whom, besides Ukraine? For Russia’s immediate neighbors? For the rest of Europe? For the United States?
The question is not just philosophical. It has practical and strategic implications of which Ukraine is currently feeling the full weight. When a threat is truly existential, we do everything to ward off it.
Faced with the most difficult military situation since the first weeks of the massive Russian invasion a little over two years ago, the Ukrainians and their closest allies are measuring the extent to which aid is currently counted on them and are coming to doubt the “existential” nature of the Russian war for others.
” It’s hard “, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, responded grimly about the situation on the battlefield to European experts and officials gathered at the Lennart Meri conference in Tallinn, Estonia, on May 18. “But send us what we need.” When we have what we need, we progress. Send us (missiles) Patriot, artillery and ammunition. Allow us to strike military targets in Russia, and you will see the difference. »
Growing discredit on the Biden team
This is one of the great criticisms addressed to the United States at the moment: why hold back the Ukrainians and prevent them from attacking enemy military targets on Russian territory with the long-range weapons supplied to kyiv, while the Russian army has no qualms about targeting civilians and destroying vital infrastructure for the Ukrainian population? The more offensive and murderous the Russian army is, the less this unequal combat is justifiable. American reluctance, after seven months of procrastination in Congress over the vote on the 60 billion dollars (around 55 billion euros) in aid promised to Ukraine, is casting growing discredit on Joe Biden’s team among some countries in the north and east of Europe, yet traditionally the most Atlanticist.
Tuesday, May 28, the White House settled the debate within the Biden administration, where Secretary of State Tony Blinken would like to give free rein to the Ukrainians: no, reiterated the spokesperson for the presidency, there is no authorization to target Russian territory. Today, many Western experts are ready to admit: for Washington, the war in Ukraine is not existential. “We told Israel that we would defend it, we never said that to Ukraine”recognizes a former American ambassador.
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