World leaders are gathering in Madrid today for the NATO summit, and one issue will be on top: the war in Ukraine. The conflict has been described as the biggest security challenge for the West since 9/11 and leaders are desperate to project an image of unity, with practical considerations of military aid.
Guardian dan sabbaghWho? He is in Madrid for the conference, having just returned from eastern Ukraine, where he witnessed the relentless shelling of Ukrainian troops. He talks Michael Safdie About a front line that resembles the battlefields of World War I.
Yesterday, at the G-7 summit, world leaders strongly condemned Russia’s attack on a shopping center that Ukraine says has killed at least 20 civilians.
But among the statements of Western unity lies a formidable fear: Will it last? As the conflict enters the conflict phase with digging in on both sides, the conflict shows no signs of coming to a conclusion this year. And with the global food and cost of living crisis looming large over voters, will the world’s richest democracies stay on the path they are promising to lead?
Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
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