Ukraine, Tusk: “Kiev’s war is our war”

Brussels, 29 September (LaPresse) – “I want to say this very clearly, also to my fellow Polish citizens: this war is also our war. Too often, here in Warsaw and elsewhere, I hear people say: ‘This is not our war; it doesn’t concern us. Let them fight their battles. We don’t want to pay, sacrifice money, time, or lives.’ It’s not a question of whether someone loves Ukraine or has had positive or negative experiences with it. It’s not just a question of solidarity with a country that has been attacked. It’s a question of the security and survival of Western civilization. This is our war because the war in Ukraine is part of a horrible project that resurfaces from time to time: a political program aimed at enslaving nations, depriving individual freedom, and bringing authoritarianism, despotism, cruelty, and violations of human rights. I won’t list everything that the current Putin regime—and other places in the world—represents, but they are clear. Whether we like it or not, this is our fight—not just in solidarity with the attacked, but because it is in our hearts. “Our fundamental interest,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the Security Forum in Warsaw. “If we lose this war—and we must speak out—the consequences will affect not only our generation, but also future generations in Poland, throughout Europe, in the United States, everywhere. Let us have no illusions. Stating this must lead to practical consequences. Poland understood early on—not only because of geography and history, but also thanks to a clear assessment of modern Russia—that security cannot be compromised. We have understood that solidarity and unity within the EU, NATO, and the transatlantic family are absolutely necessary not only for survival, but also to defeat those who attack the foundations of our civilization,” he added.