“What is at stake in Ukraine if Russia continues its onslaught,” by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, prime minister of Ukraine, The Washington Post, June 8:
Ukraine is fighting a war on two fronts. The one you see on television is taking place in the east of our country, where thousands of Russian troops are engaged in an armed aggression against Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including the illegal annexation of Crimea.
Less visible, but just as important, is Ukraine’s war against the Soviet past and the legacy of corruption and misrule that has held us back for so many years. …
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants us to fail because he knows that democratic ideas are contagious and that a free Ukraine would set an unwelcome example at home. Russia’s military intervention is an attempt to prevent change by forcing us to choose between security and reform.
Ukrainians are united in rejecting this choice. We know that the only way to regain control over our future is to create a modern Western society based on accountable government, a free-market economy and rule of law. Instead of slowing the pace of political and economic change, we are accelerating it.
…we need the support of our partners to help us stabilize our economy and deter further Russian aggression while we carry them out. …We also need international sanctions on Russia to remain in place until the Minsk agreement has been fully implemented.
… The great achievement of a “Europe whole and free” that marked the end of the Cold War is under direct attack from resurgent Russian authoritarianism and imperialism. Ukraine is bearing the brunt of that attack, but the consequences of allowing our independence to be crushed would not be contained within Ukraine. …”