#readwise # Europe Is Committed to Ukraine, for Now  ## Metadata - Author: [[Ivan Krastev]] - Full Title: Europe Is Committed to Ukraine, for Now - URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/opinion/europe-ukraine-eu.html ## Highlights - **There are ==three distinct camps== when it comes to thinking about how this war should end: the ==realists, the optimists and the revisionists==.** Representatives from each can be found among politicians and voters in almost all European countries, but they are not equally represented everywhere: **In Western and southern Europe the debate is mostly between realists and optimists; in Ukraine and some of the East European countries, it is between optimists and revisionists. ==Geography and history best explain the differences. West Europeans primarily fear nuclear war. East Europeans fear return of the Russian sphere of influence== in their countries in case of Ukraine’s defeat.** The so-called **==realists believe that Europe’s goal should be that Russia does not win==, Ukraine does not lose and the war fails to broaden.** Look to the statements of President Emmanuel Macron of France for this view. By this logic, **Ukraine should be helped to liberate as much of its territory as possible ==but a Ukrainian victory must have its limits==, because seeking this goal would greatly ==increase the risk of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons==.** The most obvious limit, it bears stating, is that Ukraine not go as far as trying to reclaim Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. ... The second camp are **==the optimists. They see the end of war as not just Ukrainian victory but the end of Vladimir Putin==. They argue that Russia’s military defeat and the continued effects of sanctions — which will only become more devastating — are clear signs that the Russian president’s time in office is limited, and they support President Volodymyr Zelensky’s unwillingness to negotiate with Mr. Putin. The proponents of this view, including German Greens and most of the East Europeans, argue that only unrestrained support for Ukraine can achieve a lasting peace. Russia should not be just stopped but defeated.** **==Revisionists see the war== in Ukraine not as Mr. Putin’s war but ==as *Russians’* war. For them, the only guarantee for peace== and stability in Europe after this war ends ==would be the irreversible weakening of Russia==, including the disintegration of the Russian Federation. They argue for supporting separatist movements in the country and keeping Russians far away from Europe regardless of political changes in the country. In their view, the war that started with Mr. Putin’s claim that Ukraine does not exist should end with the final dissolution of the Russian empire.** The “End of Russia” strategy is, perhaps not surprisingly, most popular in countries that have suffered under Moscow’s rule in the past: Poland, the Baltic republics and, of course, Ukraine. Each of these schools of thought has its sensible detractors. Critics of the realist approach rightly insist that realism was already tested in 2015 after Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and it did not work. The magical realists suffer from an excess of optimism that Mr. Putin’s days are numbered. Moreover, the regime change that optimists desire is harder in practice; how, after all, can negotiations proceed based on their desired ends? And revisionists’ appeals to dismantle or disfigure Russia could have the unintended and unwelcome effect of giving Russians reasons to fight in this war, something Mr. Putin has failed to do.