Zelensky's mission: To shake Europe out of business as usual

“As the conflict escalates, maintaining European and Western unity is likely to become more difficult – not least because Putin will try to undermine it in every way he can,” analysts at the Centre for European Reform wrote this week.

“So far, support for Ukraine has seemed relatively risk-free for European publics. But Putin will do all he can to change this perception and curtail European military assistance to Ukraine.”

...“EU leaders should prepare for a situation where a long-term, attritional conflict means that Ukrainians cannot go home in the short term and need to integrate in their host country,” warns the Centre for European Reform (CER).

“While EU citizens have been eager to help their fellow Europeans, the 2015-16 crisis shows that the mood can change quickly. European migration politics have been toxic for many years, and Putin and his minions are not shy of exploiting that.”

...“European leaders need to be clear that however the conflict ends, anything like a return to business as usual with this Russia, whether under Putin or another authoritarian leader, would be a mistake,” the CER says.