We will soon mark two dark anniversaries – and the response to them may yet determine whether the next generation lives in times of war or peace.

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine to take Kyiv, topple a legitimate government and prevent Ukraine’s integration with European institutions and markets.

Vladimir Putin and his cronies only dared to launch an attack on this scale because they had just seen the humiliating U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, signalling a lack of allied resolve in Washington and Brussels.