If Western solidarity weakens and fades, general fearfulness might spiral up and russian aggression would step up.
This was emphasized by Mika Aaltola, Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs at the 16th Annual Kyiv Security Forum established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.
“The worst that can happen now is weakening of Western solidarity, and fear is a component of escalation, - he said.
“If Russians read signals of fear, they will escalate aggression”, - Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs added.
According to him, if we fail now, then in 5-10 years we might see a regional war in Europe, and then we might talk about much bigger wars potentially.
“Ukraine must be assisted in a calculated, sometimes silent way, without causing big headlines out of it. Let us be calm and build up our defence resources,” – Mika Aaltola added.
The 16th Annual Kyiv Security Forum is held March 21-22, 2024, to gather transatlantic support for Ukraine. This year Forum slogan is “Ukraine’s call to the World: Together We Prevail!”.