We have talked ourselves almost to death

I want to tell you a story.

In 2015, I was in the Lithuanian city of Panevežys, standing with the locals, watching a military parade. But this was no ordinary parade, because marching alongside the Lithuanian troops were our American allies.

Not long after Russia annexed Crimea, in an impressive show of solidarity, Bradleys, Humvees, and Abrams rolled through Lithuanian streets that, just a quarter of a century earlier had been under occupation by the Soviet Union. An elderly man stood near me at the roadside, waving a pair of pink tulips at the passing tanks. As they rumbled by he shed a tear and I heard him murmur to himself, "Oh, how long I have waited for this".

Decades before, during the early years of Soviet oppression, Lithuanians were huddled around radios, listening to American speeches declaring the occupation illegal, believing that these powerful words would soon be backed up with action. The idea that the world would move on while Lithuania remained occupied was simply unthinkable. Partisans were surviving in forest bunkers and waiting for the day American tanks would roll up, ready to fight for freedom.

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It took more than 60 years for freedom to come. We unchained ourselves from the Soviets and joined NATO. Lithuania and the United States stood shoulder to shoulder in an alliance that seemed unshakable. President GW Bush flew to Vilnius to give a speech on the steps of City Hall. He declared any enemy of Lithuania to be an enemy of the United States, and a plaque bearing those words remains on the wall to this day.

While it could be said that the West lacked the energy to confront Stalin after WWII, this is certainly not true regarding Putin in 2025. The US and NATO have the power to do anything they want, to choose absolutely any future for Europe. However, Biden’s appeasement policy reminds us of Chamberlain, and Trump’s policy looks like capitulation. No historic parallels can be drawn, because no other leader in the West has ever placed the interests of an aggressor above those of an ally.

Trump the self-appointed peacemaker is increasing the likelihood of war, not decreasing it. Putin is being given a licence to kill, not a one-way ticket to The Hague. It’s even more than a licence to kill, it’s an invitation.

Putin escalated in 2022 because he believed President Biden’s responses were weak. If he escalates now, it will be because he sees that President Trump doesn’t care, or doesn’t realise how weak America’s stance appears to be. Iron Curtain 2.0 is a blurred boundary of indifference, of hesitation, of shirked responsibility. And this suits Putin, because he doesn’t want the West safe and sustainable behind a fixed border, he wants the West to fail completely.

And so the only hope for Europe is Europe itself. But Europe was never designed to move fast or break things. Europe was designed to be slow, calm, and never again able to fight against itself. Putin’s only hope is that Europe stays in a self-induced coma, unable to seize frozen assets, unable to manufacture weapons, unable to move troops in any significant numbers. Unable to defend the values that were chosen for very good reasons.

It is far too late for further discussion on this. We know what needs to be done, we have talked ourselves almost to death. Now the only thing left to do is to back up the words with actions.

I often hear that we need realism, not idealism. But realism never brought anyone peace and never liberated any oppressed nations. Only the dogged determination to defend our values ever achieved the victories we cherish. Only dreams and hard work can make us great again.

What a week

ICYMI – This week I have given more interviews than ever before, and next week I am in Kyiv, so things aren't going to slow down any time soon. Here's some links to catch up on what I have been saying to the world's media:

🇺🇸Washington Post | 🇩🇪Public Sphere | 🇺🇦United24 | 🇺🇦UATV | 🇩🇪Der Spiegel | 🇷🇴HotNews.ro | 🇮🇹Il Foglio | 🇩🇪Deutsche Welle | 🇨🇦CBC | 🇩🇪Zeit Online

Carrying a small stick

And finally, my evaluation of the negotiating tactics employed by President Trump: