A decade ago, I was a U.S. diplomat serving in Warsaw, Poland. I had a close group of Polish friends who, while not in the field of foreign affairs, had a strong fear of Putin’s Russia. They were concerned his aggression and resentment would lead him one day to launch war again in Europe.
I dismissed their concerns as a Cold War hangover. Poland then seemed so prosperous and at peace, and Russia so weak compared with the EU. The 2008 invasion into Georgia seemed a far cry from a threat on Western Europe.
Then came the 2014 invasion of Crimea, the 2016 interference in our own elections and years of cyberattacks on the West. Putin has only grown bolder, as we have done our best to hope he wouldn’t go too far. Today, it is inescapable that he has.
