In Helping Ukraine, We Protect Ourselves

8 Oct 2026 03:40 PM

Supporting Ukraine is self-interest, not charity: Russia threatens democracies well beyond Europe, and Ukraine’s battlefield innovation and civilian resilience hold lessons for the West.

Your authors have just returned from a 10-day visit to Ukraine, with meetings in Lviv, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro. We met extraordinary innovators at drone factories and visited war-weary but motivated soldiers close to the kill-zone. We heard from NGOs, media outlets and common citizens, all of whom shared a basic message: they will not break us.

As Ukrainians face a fifth winter of war, anticipating severe power and heating shortages due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure (now including petrol stations), their ongoing resilience is remarkable. This is even more impressive when we are reminded of the numerous and brutal Russian human rights transgressions since the start: the murder of civilians in Bucha and Izyum, the torture and deaths of prisoners of war, the abduction and exfiltration of children into Russia. The indiscriminate attacks against civilians – with ballistic missiles, glide-bombs and drones – all ensure that nowhere feels safe, a deliberate tactic in the Russian government’s ‘cognitive warfare’ campaign.

Casualties are mounting, with as many as 250,000-300,000 killed and wounded on the Ukrainian side and over five times this number on the Russian. Though defiant, Ukrainians are also understandably exhausted. Today, some of Ukraine’s staunchest allies are also experiencing fatigue, with increased pressure back home due to high energy costs, inflation and strained social services. Far-right parties in Europe, many cosy with Russia, are surging in the polls in countries that have been major supporters of Ukraine, including Germany and France. Public backing is already weaker across southern Europe, where governments and citizens have to contend with security threats to their south in addition to the threat posed by Russia.

In today’s transactional, realpolitik world, many governments and their citizens are asking why they should keep sending billions of dollars to Ukraine. What is in it for us? It is a fair question and one that demands greater public debate about the merits of continued support to Ukraine.

This question has two distinct answers.

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