In the past few days, Ukraine has once again proven that it no longer plays by rules imposed by others. While global powers weigh their strategies, drowning in endless security conferences and declarations without results, Ukrainian forces carried out one of the boldest and most intelligent military operations of this war. Using drones launched from mobile platforms, from trucks, deep inside Russian territory, they precisely struck Tu-95 strategic bombers. Aircraft that once symbolized Russian military might, safely taking off from airbases hundreds of kilometers from the front line until yesterday, are now reduced to debris. There are no safe zones anymore. No untouchable targets.
Ukrainians hit them. Directly. With surgical precision. For the first time since the war started, the enemy felt the kind of pain it has long inflicted on others. This strike is not just a military success. It is a demonstration of creativity, courage, military intellect, and an unshakable resolve to accept nothing less than full freedom. The fact that these drones were launched from mobile platforms deep within Russia marks a new phase in the war. Nothing is out of reach anymore. Not the symbols, nor the instruments, of Russian imperialism.
This action changes the course of the war. Russia can no longer feel safe within its own borders. There are no more protected airfields and no more untouchable bases. What NATO feared to try, fearing escalation, Ukraine executed without hesitation. Precisely and decisively. It’s no wonder many NATO member states now appear weaker, slower, and more confused compared to Ukraine — a country with no formal security guarantees, yet ready to do what few actual member states could.
The question now is simple: who is the real pillar of European security today? If we go by outcomes, not statements, it’s Ukraine. Not France. Not Germany. Not Italy. Each of those nations, armed to the teeth, has shown none of the tactical sophistication or strategic resolve we’ve seen in Ukraine’s resistance. That is why the West must reevaluate not its sympathies, but its priorities. Ukraine is no longer just a country seeking help. It is a country that has earned partnership.
At this moment, every Ukrainian soldier on the front line is not only defending national territory. They are defending the European order based on law, liberty, and sovereignty. Their targets are not just Russian aircraft. Their targets are the ideology of aggression and the system that fuels war crimes, rape, genocide, and historical revisionism. They are fighting a war for all of us. And there is no excuse left for hesitation.
Any NATO country that considers itself serious must sign a bilateral military alliance with Ukraine now. No preconditions. No bureaucracy. No delays. This is the only way to preserve the West’s credibility, already deeply eroded by passivity and endless second-guessing. Instead of keeping Ukraine an eternal candidate, it is time to give it what it has long earned — a place in the Alliance and a role at the core of modern Europe’s political structure.
There are no more excuses. There is no more time to waste. The drones launched from trucks are not just a military innovation. They are a clear political message. Ukraine will no longer plead. It has proven it can act. It does not need permission to win. A world that fails to see that becomes a hostage to its own cowardice.
Donald Trump can think whatever he wants. He can play his games with Putin. He can threaten to cut aid to Ukraine. But that aid is no longer a gift. It is an investment in global security. And anyone who thinks they can gamble with the future of that investment has misunderstood the direction history is taking. The future does not belong to those who calculate. It belongs to those who act. And Ukrainians are acting.
Volodymyr Zelensky has shown that he knows how to play this game — a high-stakes game, at the edge, without a safety net. He is a president who has not entered history because of his speeches but because of his decisions. When the assault on Kyiv began, he did not run. When bombs fell on Kharkiv, he did not yield. And when the opportunity came to strike where it hurts, he did not hesitate. The West rarely sees such leadership. And instead of watching it from a distance, it must recognize it as its own strength.
Everyone who doubted Ukraine’s capacity to resist the largest army in Europe is now silent. Because truth is louder than propaganda. That truth now resonates in the ruined engines of Russian aircraft, which are no longer capable of flight. It can be seen in the eyes of Ukrainian commandos who understand that freedom is not a gift — it is a right that must be defended.
Ukraine’s losses are immense, but its resolve is unwavering. That endurance, that readiness to persevere, holds the truth that the West must finally hear. Should it wish to avoid becoming a silent observer of its own decline, it must unite with those who are already resisting.
So let us be clear. Ukraine is no longer asking. It is offering. Ukraine is offering partnership, knowledge, experience, and courage. Whoever cannot see that today will pay dearly tomorrow.
Ukraine is more vital to NATO than NATO is to Ukraine. Because without Ukraine, NATO risks becoming just another club with expensive aircraft and hollow words. With Ukraine, it is a meaningful alliance. The decisions made today will determine where Europe stands tomorrow. If NATO wishes to remain a relevant security force, it must stop avoiding what is plainly in front of it. Ukraine is a test of its integrity. And that test can no longer be postponed.