“Will there be an Avengers moment for a battered, exhausted and broken Ukraine?”
“Avengers, assemble!” yells Chris Evans’ Captain America right before the final battle sequence at the end of the movie Avengers: Endgame.
We all know that scene. Captain America is alone in a decimated landscape, battered and exhausted, but still holding on to whatever remains of his broken shield. He has seemingly reached the end of the road pitted against the mighty Thanos.
Taking on this evil force and his brutal army seems an impossible task, even for a superhero. But, when all hope seems lost, Wakandans appear and The Falcon descends.
One by one we see the spectacular gathering of all the allied forces including the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Asgardians, the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Ravagers, and more. Together, these nations defeat Thanos and his army because they know that an attack on one is an attack on all.
As we approach the four-month mark of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, I’m left wondering – does the world truly understand that the war on sovereign Ukraine is a war on all sovereign countries around the globe?
Will there be an Avengers moment for a battered, exhausted and broken Ukraine?
Preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is imperative to maintaining our world order, Europe’s security order, the integrity of conduct between nations and the global rule of law.
The fact is that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is merely a gateway for Putin. If Medusa’s head is not cut off now, the rest of Europe will become a target, and the West will have an even more significant, more powerful and brutal monster to deal with. And that monster’s allied countries may be inspired to do the same with their bordering neighbors.
As this war drags on, Putin is counting on the world’s indifference. This is not the time for war fatigue. Western nations have given Ukraine billions of dollars in weaponry, taken in millions of refugees, and imposed collective sanctions on Putin and Russia.
Ukrainians are fighting heroically, but they are not superheroes. Ukraine is still in dire need of more advanced weaponry and more restrictive measures imposed on its attackers. This is not just a fight for a sovereign Ukraine, but a fight for a sovereign world. AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!
