Eight years after Russia annexed Crimea, it has claimed sovereignty over an even larger chunk of Ukrainian territory through military force and sham “votes”. The post-second world war settlement in Europe lies shattered. By declaring that any attack on the annexed regions would be treated as an assault on Russia itself, and that Moscow sees itself as in an existential war against the west, Vladimir Putin has taken the conflict into its most perilous phase. Nerve-jangling times lie ahead. Yet for western allies to allow this illegal land grab to stand would set a further, devastating precedent. They must formulate their strategy with utmost care, but need to hold their nerve.
在吞并克里米亚八年后，俄罗斯通过军事力量和虚假的“投票”，宣称对乌克兰更多的领土拥有主权。二战后在欧洲达成的和解已被打破。弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)宣布，对被吞并地区的任何攻击，都将被视为对俄罗斯自身的攻击，莫斯科方面认为自己正处于一场与西方的生存战争中。此举将这场冲突带入了最危险的阶段。神经紧张的时代还在前面。然而，如果西方盟友允许这种非法侵占土地的行为继续存在，将开创一个进一步的、毁灭性的先例。他们必须非常谨慎地制定战略，但也需要保持勇气。