Amid rising tensions and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Yehor Cherniev, Ukrainian MP and Chairman of the Ukrainian delegation to NATO, warned on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin might not wait for a decisive victory in Ukraine before launching another attack on Europe.
The discussion took place at Ukraine House in Davos, hosted by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, under the title “What if Ukraine Loses?”
Cherniev expressed concerns about the broader implications of a potential defeat for Ukraine.
He said: “I’m not sure that they will wait for fully conquering Ukraine to start the invasion of Baltic states.”
He stressed that the defeat of Ukraine would signify a defeat for the West, leading to Russia’s potential invasion of other sovereign states.
He further suggested that such an outcome would result in “the polarisation of the world”, with the security and protection of the USA and the EU at stake.
Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, highlighted the importance of considering the worst-case scenario for Ukraine.
He said: “We need to make it clear what the dire consequences of a Russian victory would mean, else US interest will begin to wane. If the US stops sending financial and military commitments, then Western Europe will follow.”
Ferguson also provided insights into what a victory might look like for Putin, adding: “It would be a victory for Putin even if Ukraine retained the majority of its 1991 territory but was economically unable to survive or to prosper.” He expressed concern about the failure of the Western alliance and US leadership if such a scenario were to unfold.
“We cannot allow Ukraine to lose this war. We cannot allow Putin to claim victory, because financial, economic, and moral costs to us will be unacceptably high,” Ferguson added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also addressed the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, urging political and business leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild Ukraine, and advance the peace process.
Zelensky, while criticising Putin for levelling cities and perpetuating the terrifying feeling of never-ending war, emphasised the global significance of Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
Zelensky said: “Anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken. Putin embodies war.”
He criticised the world’s approach before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, stating that every ‘Don’t escalate’ sounded like ‘You will prevail’ to Putin. As Israel’s war with Hamas commands global attention, Zelensky sought to keep Ukraine in the forefront as a defender of democracies.
