There is no justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Firstly, it must be underlined that NATO is not an organisation that “expanded” to the east. It was we, the independent European states, that decided on our own to go west.

Our countries have been for decades either forcefully occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union (for example, the Baltic States), subdued by it against their will and even invaded (Hungary in 1956, former Czechoslovakia in 1968). The tragic events of the Second World War and its aftermath placed us against the will of our people on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain and deprived us of the self-determination promised in the United Nations Charter. The fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989 opened new and brighter chapters in our history. Our governments, for the first time in decades, were elected in a free and democratic way. We finally regained the freedom to set our own destinies, in a process not much different from the waves of decolonisation that brought justice and dignity to other countries around the world. Our governments opted for the path of peace, security, economic growth and respect for fundamental freedoms. Integration with NATO and the European Union became a dream of our people.

Our path to NATO and the EU was not easy. It took a lot of effort to fulfil all the requirements: Adopting new national legislation and introducing reforms in such areas as anti-corruption, fiscal and judicial law, protection of human rights and minorities. We also had to build up our national defence forces as well as prove that we can contribute to the collective defence. This was no free ride.

With NATO membership, our borders became secure. For the first time in our history, the threat of invasion by a foreign power was unlikely with the collective defensive support of our allies — one for all, all for one. The process of joining NATO and the security guarantees it provided allowed our countries to focus on internal political and economic transformation — from centrally-planned and ineffective economies without fair elections to modern democracies with liberalised markets. NATO membership helped pave the way for nine of us to join the EU.

Over 30 years of uninterrupted growth, peace and security in our countries brought tremendous civilisational progress. Since the fall of communism, our GDP per capita has grown exponentially. Our countries are now leading economic models with impressive records in most social and economic indexes. From being one of the sources of global emigration before 1989, we became the destination for those who seek a better place to live and raise their children.

Secondly, neither our decision to join NATO nor the organisation itself poses a threat to Russia. It is a defensive alliance, one that seeks no territory. Moreover, in the last two decades, NATO focused efforts on fighting terrorism and piracy — threats that are common for most states, including India. And 109 of our soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan while being part of the NATO mission there. These efforts contributed also to global security, including a reduction of maritime piracy in the Indian Ocean.

NATO stands for freedom, democracy, rule of law and respect for smaller nations. Russia, on the other hand, committed to respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for Kyiv giving up its nuclear weapons in the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances in 1994. And then it broke that obligation.

NATO has sought partnership and dialogue with Russia. No other state has received from NATO over the years so many offers of cooperation and dialogue as Russia: Starting from the Partnership for Peace in the early 1990s that our countries were part of as non-NATO members at the time, to the creation of the NATO-Russia Council. The 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, which defined cooperation between Russia and NATO, presented a positive direction for the development, even presaging the forthcoming enlargement of the alliance.

Russia has broken its commitments to work together and damaged our trust by conducting cyberattacks on some of us (Estonia in 2007), annexing parts of the territory of our neighbours (Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014) until finally starting unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. In January 2022, NATO offered to Russia the possibility of dialogue to discuss the security situation in Europe that would include transparency, arms control and other measures.

Instead, Russia chose war. If Russia claims it has a “legitimate interest” concerning Ukraine or “defending itself” against NATO, then why does it refuse to advance such interests through diplomacy? The arguments that European countries have cornered or encircled Russia by joining NATO or allowing other countries to join NATO are nothing else but false propaganda to justify Vladimir Putin’s imperial vision. Does anyone outside the Kremlin truly want to bring back a world of imperialism, land grabs and rampant violations of territorial integrity?

In this senseless war, Russia is targeting civilians and creating the biggest flow of refugees in Europe since the Second World War. We have provided shelter to them, and this includes helping to evacuate Indian students escaping Russian aggression, threading their way home through bombardment by Russian warplanes and artillery.

Finally, the people of Ukraine are fighting today for the same opportunities that our countries had in the last three decades. The Ukrainian people want to exercise their right to self-determination according to the UN Charter, to live in peace, and transform their country into a modern and functional state, free of coercion and corruption. However, Russia cannot accept this. A free and prosperous Ukraine would prove to the Russian people that a better world for them is possible. Ukraine fights for the values that we, the Bucharest Nine, believe in, and have fought for over many generations and which we will always collectively defend.

Ukraine today has become a symbol of the fight with imperialism, for all. No state wants to be a “buffer zone” or part of another’s sphere of influence. All states have the right to independently follow the aspirations of their people. Any attempts to brutally inhibit this right should not be accepted by the international community in the 21st century. All states, furthermore, should be ensured their free choice to decide about their alliances and paths of development. No one should wish for the times of colonialism, bullying of the small by the more powerful to return. We do not wish to see this again in Europe, Asia or on any other continent.

The authors of this article — representatives to India of the Bucharest Nine countries — are Eleonora Dimitrova (ambassador, Bulgaria); Katrin Kivi (ambassador, Estonia); Andras Laszlo Kiraly (ambassador, Hungary); Artis Bertulis (ambassador, Latvia); Julius Pranevicius (ambassador, Lithuania); Adam Burakowski (ambassador, Poland); Daniela Sezonov Tane (ambassador, Romania); Robert Maxian (ambassador-designate, Slovakia) and Roman Masarik (charge d’affaires, Czech Republic). All B9 countries are members of NATO and the EU