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9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo in 1914, served as a catalyst for World War I. A month after the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and Europe rapidly descended into chaos. One incident ignited the flames of war that eventually claimed the lives of millions of people. History teaches us how even the slightest of seemingly inconsequential actions can cascade into ruinous war that draws neighbours into conflict. e stray missile that hit a Polish vil- lage on the Ukrainian border on Tues- day, killing two people, risked being one of those incidents where escala- tion becomes a natural consequence. e initial fear that the missile might have been a Russian attack – inten- tional or not – caused jitters. An at- tack on Poland would have been an attack on NATO and the EU. e facts as ascertained by the Polish authorities and NATO officials later attributed the explosion to Ukrainian air-defence systems that were in use at the time to ward off Russian missile strikes on their territory. e news will be of no consolation to the friends and family of the two vic- tims but Europe could breathe a sigh of relief. However, the incident came as a stark reminder of the serious dangers that accompany Russian belligerence in Ukraine. e incident served as a wakeup call for Europeans who may have been lulled into complacency months after Russia invaded Ukraine. e missile that struck the Polish vil- lage may have been a Ukrainian air de- fence system gone astray but the truth of the matter is the Ukrainians would have had no business using these mis- siles to defend their territory had Rus- sia not invaded. e culprit remains Russia and this must not be forgotten even in such an unfortunate circumstance. Europe is suffering the consequenc- es of the Ukraine war. Russia's retribu- tion for sanction levied on it has led to a spike in energy prices that is caus- ing inflation to soar. e war has dis- rupted grain and oil supplies from the warring countries but also disrupted international trade links, making it more expensive to get goods across the world. Europeans are hurting, which is why the EU must also act on the domestic front to ease this pain. e EU's ability to sustain Ukraine's war effort is de- pendent on the moral support of the peoples who live within the bloc. And that support can easily be withdrawn if economic pain leaves people desti- tute. is material view must not be ig- nored but neither should the morality behind the decision to impose sanc- tions on Russia and offer support to Ukraine. Russia's unopposed invasion of Crimea, a region in Ukraine, in 2014, only emboldened Vladimir Putin to go all the way six years later. Before Crimea, there was Georgia in 2008 when Russia invaded on another false pretext. e pattern of belligerence has been there for a long time. It was only the resilience of Ukrainians, aided by the military equipment supplied by the West, that stopped Russia's grand de- sign to take all of Ukraine in its tracks. e EU has to learn how to live with its large erratic neighbour but in do- ing so it must not bow to Russia's every whim. e EU must dialogue with Russia but in doing so it must also assert its values of freedom and respect for the rule of law. e EU must never turn its back to Russia but in doing so it has to make it clear that Ukraine's territorial integri- ty and security are non-negotiable. The culprit remains Russia 17.11.2022

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