Future of west is in question writes PM in Politico article

Without more forceful intervention in Ukraine's war, the consequences for the U.S. and Europe could be devastating, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, wrote in an article published on the Politico website, on Monday.

"This is no longer a local conflict," wrote the prime minister. "Russia's actions already have global consequences in the form of Putin-flation. And the further effects are difficult to even estimate," he added.

"While Ukraine has surpassed expectations to fend off Russia for this long, unless the US and Europe intervene more forcefully, a protracted war could mean not only Ukraine's downfall but - in the long term - the rise of a new global hegemony, which will be able to marginalize the Western world," Morawiecki warned.

"Does the transatlantic free world still want to occupy a position of leadership?" asked Morawiecki. "Do we still believe in the universality of values such as freedom and the right of national self-determination. Do we have determination to defend them?" he continued. "If not, we have already lost our future."

"However, if the flame that has enlivened our civilization for centuries is still smoldering, it is high time we rekindled it and did everything in our power to save Ukraine," said Morawiecki.

According to Polish prime minister, Russia's invasion "surely heralded the end of an era of illusions. The subsequent criminal actions of the Russian army - the massacre of civilians in Bucha, Borodyanka, Mariupol and Irpin - have proven that post-Soviet Russia is not the country the West had imagined," he wrote.

"A confluence of old-fashioned nationalism, imperialism and colonialism supercharged by hyper-modern propaganda tools: This is the image of a 21st-century totalitarian state. It is the true face of Vladimir Putin's Russia, and one must be a cynic not to recognize it," added Morawiecki. "It is not enough for us to discard our illusions regarding Russia, we must also cast off the illusions toward ourselves."

"If Ukraine falls, the foundations on which we have built our plans for the future will also collapse," he assessed.