Petr Fiala is the prime minister of the Czech Republic.

While Russian missiles are destroying Ukrainian cities, shopping malls and schools, the Ukrainian army is steadily advancing east, reclaiming territory unjustly — and illegally — seized by Russia.

As they liberate villages, Ukrainian soldiers are encountering destroyed homes, unearthing mass graves and discovering other evidence of Russia’s barbarism. Nevertheless, the news from the front gives us hope that the conflict is moving in the direction we all hoped for.

We believed, from the beginning, that this counteroffensive would come. It was also always clear that, despite all its heroism and determination, Ukraine could not manage this struggle without extensive help from the West, and I am proud that my country was one of the first to offer not just large-scale humanitarian aid, but also weapons. We have sent tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, ammunition and more, all to help the outnumbered Ukrainian forces.

Additional assistance was also organized directly by Czech citizens in a series of spontaneous collections, unprecedented in its scale. Only a few days ago, the Czech population successfully collected enough money to send a tank named Thomas to Ukraine.

Furthermore, the Czech Republic has aided Ukrainian women, children and the elderly who fled the war to save their lives. We have taken in more than 400,000 refugees — an enormous number for our country of just 10 million. Many of those who have decided to stay in the Czech Republic have been able to find jobs here as well, and they are successfully integrating into our society, with children enrolling in schools. All this, without any significant issues or conflicts.

All of these actions — providing asylum for refugees, a supply of weapons and solidarity of our citizens — are ways of standing up for what’s right. They are also vital steps toward our survival.

Ukraine’s fight is our fight too. The Czech Republic’s fight, the European Union’s fight, the whole of Europe’s fight. Our own geopolitical prospects depend on the outcome of this war. The fate of Ukraine is directly linked to the international order in which we must live, and it will decide what the aggressors of the world will be allowed to do in the future.

Therefore, without a free Ukraine, there is no free Europe. And if Russia destroys Ukraine, it is us — Central and Eastern Europe — who are standing right behind it, waiting in line to be attacked next.

All of this has guided us in helping Ukraine since day one, and we must keep it all in mind in the future, when peace and justice will have to be negotiated.

Ukrainians have shown incredible stamina and admirable capabilities. However, when they finally push Russian occupiers out of their country — as we all hope to see — the crisis will, unfortunately, still be far from over.

Simply put, Ukraine cannot avoid the laws of geography. Even if it wins, the country will still have to live right next door to Russia, and ensuring long-term stability, justice and post-war reconstruction will be no less challenging.

The international community’s main task will then be to find a solution to ensure true peace, and not allow for a frozen or smoldering conflict on Europe’s borders that would pose a permanent threat.

I am proud of the way the West has worked together to respond to the war when it mattered the most. We have discovered the ability to agree on critical issues and have been able to act quickly.

However, we must also remain invested in Ukraine in the months and years ahead, when success will depend more on careful strategic planning, shared determination and a difficult search for consensus — especially in a situation where the fighting partially calms down and the Western world turns its focus more toward its own internal issues, primarily energy security.

No matter what, the future of Ukraine is so crucial that it simply must remain a priority.

2022 has reminded us of what makes the West great and what our strengths are. It is thanks to the fundamental values that gave birth to our world — the inviolability of human life, protection of the weak, respect for contracts, freedom of action and an open society — that we remain the most successful civilization in history.

The contrast with the “Russian way” could not be greater.

Russia has been trying to build a new world throughout its modern history. However, the vision for that world is not of a better future. Instead, Russia seems to be delirious with fever, bringing suffering to all. It has no regard for human life, destroying tens of thousands in recent months.

We ignored and tolerated the risks posed by the Russian regime for a long time — although there was more than enough evidence to the contrary. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, we’ve been either too naive or too carefree in our approach toward Moscow. Hopefully, the war in Ukraine has put a definitive end to that.

After months, we have now finally committed to Ukraine what we should have done after the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014. We have committed to sanctions, diplomatic isolation and a search for alternative suppliers of raw materials. And given our knowledge and experience, we should now think very carefully about what exactly we must do next.

We simply cannot afford to make the same mistakes again.

The war in Ukraine has shaken the world, but it has also given us a chance to revitalize our fundamental institutions. We are now much more aware of what is essential and what is secondary; what we must do for our security and how imperative it is for us to remain strong in order to preserve peace.

In recent months, many have found their lost faith in our civilization. But challenging months and years still lie ahead. Let us try to make the most of them.

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