Putin Has the Fancy Watches — Europe Has the Time

Now more than ever, Europe must stand firm to ensure peace with justice. That means maintaining full military and other pressure on Russia.

By Ben Hodges and Dan Rice.

Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges at Lithuanian Military Academy / Photo source Lithuanian Military Academy Facebook page

Imagine it – pro-invasion Russian performers are welcomed back to the great European cultural venues, Russian oligarchs reclaim European soccer clubs, Gazprom sponsors events, and glittering parties are thrown, where rivers of champagne lubricate the meetings of Russia’s superrich with their Western counterparts.

Is that where we’re heading? The invasion of Ukraine and its overflowing graveyards forgotten, and business as usual, with Kremlin gas, once again pouring cheap gas down Europe’s throat?

It’s clear members of the Trump administration foresee something like this (see the March 25 outline deal with Russia that may reopen Black Sea trade routes), and there are many powerful Europeans who would happily accept it.

Three years into the war, Europe must take a stand. It must clearly say that the only acceptable end to the Ukraine-Russia war is full Russian withdrawal to Ukraine’s 1991 borders. Anything less — any partition, ceasefire, or frozen conflict — will reward criminal aggression and doom Europe to a future of the past, where recurring and large-scale violence reduce 80 years of peace and prosperity to dust.

There can be no return to business as usual. Russia cannot be welcomed back into the global economy, the international diplomatic community, or European cultural life until it has fully retreated from every inch of Ukrainian land, returned all the tens of thousands of prisoners and kidnapped children, and paid reparations. No sanctions should be lifted until then — they should remain in place as EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan wrote for CEPA on March 25.

This is not simply about punishment. It is discipline for a nation that has never been made to change.

Germany, Japan, and Italy — the three Axis powers — were defeated, occupied, and rebuilt. They went through deep cultural transformations. Their societies teach their children to be ashamed of the horrors they unleashed. They were made to remember.

Russia never was. The Soviet Union helped begin World War II by dividing Central Europe with Nazi Germany in 1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact carved up Poland, the Baltic states, Finland, and Romania. But when Hitler turned on Stalin in 1941, the Kremlin joined the Allies, reframed its role as heroic, and was rewarded with half of Europe. Soviet aggression was rewarded — and then forgotten.

Today, Russian monuments and events obsessively commemorate The Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. They erase the years when Russia was the invader and Nazi co-conspirator. And they raise generation after generation to celebrate conquest, not reckon with it.

This is open conditioning on a civilizational scale: reward aggression, and you get more of it.

That aggression is happening again — against Ukraine, a sovereign nation defending not just its borders, but European peace itself. And once again, we face a choice: indulge the Kremlin’s delusions of empire or defeat them with the only weapon that has ever worked — aiding military resistance while ensuring economic isolation and demonstrating strategic patience.

The good news: Europe holds the leverage. The Russian economy is bleeding. Russia’s central bank rates are 21%, inflation is 10%, and $15bn a month is vaporized on the battlefield. Around 40% of Russia’s entire budget now goes to the war effort — and much of it never returns. Russia is losing this war economically. And it is running out of money.

Three years of sanctions have done what decades of diplomacy could not: they’ve isolated the Kremlin and slowed the Russian war machine. The strongest sanctions only began to bite in late 2023. Now is not the time to lift them. Now is the time to tighten them.

In 2024, Europe sent Ukraine $19bn in aid — while still importing $23bn in Russian energy. That contradiction must end. Europe should reduce Russian energy imports to near zero in 2025 rather than the current target of 2027 (as its new Energy Commissioner is proposing.). Full energy independence from Russia is no longer a dream — it is a continental security necessity.

Europe does not need Russia. Russia needs the world economy.

Ukraine has borne the brunt of the sacrifice. Her soldiers have fought valiantly for every meter. Her cities have endured missile attacks, war crimes, and occupation. Her people have been kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked. Her economy has been shattered. Ukraine has paid a bloody price.

President Zelenskyy was a hero to Europe in 2022. In 2025, he is a superhero — having defended the continent for three years. In fairness, Europe has risen to meet the moment. Leaders like Mark Rutte, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen, and soon-to-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz have taken firm, principled stands against Russian aggression. Europe is more united than it has been for many years.

Europe’s duty is simple: do not sell out those who made that sacrifice. Do not appease a war criminal. Do not reward a nation that still glorifies its past aggression. And do not, under any circumstances, trade land for a false peace. Yield not a meter.

Some will argue for compromise. Some will call for “realism.” But the only realistic path to lasting peace is through Russian defeat and withdrawal. Send the clear message that strength, not appeasement, is how wars end.

Generations of Europeans will benefit if Russia is finally made to pay a lasting price for its aggression.

Putin may have the fancy watches. But Europe has the time.

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Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges, the former Commanding General of US Army Europe (2014-2017), currently serves as NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics and is a Distinguished Fellow with GLOBSEC.

Dan Rice is President of the American University Kyiv and former Special Advisor to the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi (2022-2023).

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Article first time published on CEPA web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.