Putin’s war is uniting eastern Europe

When president Zelensky spoke to us in the Romanian parliament, it was his first international address after the horrors of Bucha had come out. As he recounted the abominable crimes of the Russian military, it was surreal to see such atrocities happening in this day and age, in a country just next door to my own. ‘I apologise for these tough images’, Zelensky said during the address earlier this month, ‘but this is the reality, as tough as the images’.

Every country has a unique place in history. But a truly great nation is now being forged on the battlefields of Ukraine. The country has already marked an outstanding moral victory against the Russian invaders not only through the justice of its cause, but also by the valour of its arms and the spirit of its people. Ukraine’s fight is a reminder that such virtues – perhaps more ancient and less fashionable than the values we usually focus on – remain vital to national survival when war comes.