The words of the American president in kyiv will probably not be etched in memory like the “Ich bin ein Berliner” by John F. Kennedy. But the symbols will remain in history: Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky quietly leaving the Saint-Michel-au-Dôme-d’Or monastery under the sirens; praying in front of the wall of the victims of the war against Russia; embracing each other; then giving a very classic press conference, in a country yet plunged into the most serious conflict since 1945.
This trip, extended to Poland, of course comes at a very symbolic moment, a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, and while the Ukrainians are anticipating a major enemy offensive. The message is clear: the United States will not accept a defeat for Ukraine. A year ago, Putin thought Ukraine was “weak” and the West “divided”. “He had it all wrong,” said Joe Biden, reaffirming the “unwavering support” of the United States for the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
A few days earlier, during the Munich security conference, Washington and its allies had shown themselves determined to block Moscow – despite major nuances on the strategy to be adopted. Thus, the supply of heavy weapons to the Ukrainians is causing growing divisions in the populations. Yet it is on this ground that everything will be played. Without massive – and rapid – aid, the Ukrainian army will not be able to launch a counter-offensive after the “rasputitsa” (melting snow) and the conflict will become entrenched in trench warfare. Bad news for Westerners.
The more time passes, the more the autocratic powers grow bolder. Determined to continue the fight, Vladimir Putin, adopting the posture of a victim, denounced an attempt by the West to “finish off” Russia and to want to transform “a local conflict into a global conflict”.
A rhetoric that will please the “friends” of Moscow. Iran, which sends a lot of drones to Russia, and China, which conducts military exercises with Moscow, and would think, according to the United States, of supplying it with weapons. If the American fear is justified, the world will find itself on the edge of the abyss. Close to a war that would oppose the United States and their allies to a coalition heavily endowed with nuclear weapons. A geopolitics of chaos that our determination will have, if we do not intensify our efforts today towards Ukraine, more and more difficult to stop.
