Article 51 of the United Nations Charter provides that: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if a Member of the United Nations is the object of armed attack…”
As a member of the United Nations under armed aggression, Ukraine enjoys this inherent right of self-defense, and all other UN member states, respecting the letter and spirit of the UN Charter, should not only refrain from violating this right, but also assist Ukraine in upholding it.
This approach is even more justified if we take into account the fact that Ukraine has been defending its territorial integrity and that of Europe for a decade.
It is also in the interest of NATO member countries for Ukraine to stop Putin in his tracks, because the Kremlin’s imperialist plans extend far beyond Ukraine. Indeed, on March 7, 2024, US President Joe Biden made this abundantly clear in his State of the Union address: “Abroad, Russia’s Putin is on the march, invading Ukraine and wreaking havoc across Europe and beyond. If anyone in this chamber thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you they will not. But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with them and provide them with the weapons they need to defend themselves. That is all Ukraine asks.”
If the West truly wants Ukraine to end Russia’s genocidal war and the continuing threat it poses to European peace and security, it must do more than simply help Ukraine not lose this war. The West must genuinely help Ukraine win it quickly.
Ukraine’s successful incursion into Russia’s Kursk region has exposed Russia’s vulnerability and demonstrated that with effective, not belated and gradual, Western support, Ukraine can succeed and thwart Russia’s imperialist plans.
With this goal in mind, the West must provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons, including long-range ones, to protect its airspace, liberate its territories and protect its territorial integrity and, by extension, that of Europe.
Furthermore, the West must lift its counterproductive restrictions and allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to neutralize military and other strategic installations in Russia that are being used by its military to kill and injure Ukrainian civilians, including children, and destroy civilian infrastructure, hospitals and schools in Ukraine.
On June 13, 2024, ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg publicly stated: “According to international law, Ukraine has a right to self-defense, and a right to self-defense also includes striking legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor, Russia. If they were unable to do so, then we would ask them to try to defend themselves, to enforce their right to self-defense with one hand tied behind their back. Self-defense is not an escalation. Self-defense is a right enshrined in the UN Charter. And we have the right to help Ukraine enforce that right.”
The sooner the West fully exercises its right to help Ukraine enforce its right to self-defense, the sooner Ukraine will end Russia’s daily campaign of terror and carnage, which will ultimately ensure peace and security in Europe.