We let Putin’s regime invade Ukraine in 2014, and we did nothing. In 2022, Ukraine and the world, to a certain degree, paid the price of our inaction by letting Putin’s criminals do it again, but on a much larger scale. Today marks a sad anniversary and reminds us how costly our hesitation in providing what Ukraine really needs to make a dent in this conflict. I feel sorry for the Ukrainians, and I feel frustrated by our slow and timid reactions. I know that we, the West, did spend quite a lot to help, but we need to do much more than that to kick out those criminals and to make the Russian regime think again the next time they envision invading a free country.

Finally, the prospect of the Trump return as a president makes the future look even darker. The United States influence in the political and diplomatic space around the world looks to be diminishing like the snow under the sun. Trump won’t reverse this trend. Who’s taking over?