There aren’t many opportunities for lasting peace in Ukraine – and those that do seem utopian. A quarter of a century after the end of the war in ex-Yugoslavia, tensions in the Balkans linger despite Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia being in NATO. The tensions there will probably only end when Serbia becomes a member of the EU. Likewise, one can only imagine a harmonious settlement of relations between an imperialist Russia and a proud and independent Ukraine, with both states becoming part of a united Europe. But this wishful thinking hardly seems feasible – neither under Russia’s President Vladimir Putin nor under any of his possible successors.
