My heart sank today. The naivety of German diplomacy and media over the past years has been frightening. Putin has always been a stone-cold (ex-KGB) sociopathic murderer, and war criminal (Syria) who had been presented in Germany for decades as a reliable business partner – or a disappointed autocrat who traumatically suffered from NATOs expansion after 1991.

However, with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Germany’s ‘special status’ in diplomacy has been proven to be nothing more than a self-serving illusion that has fallen for Russian propaganda. 
In his latest speech, Putin is even openly threatening the West, us, with violence if we would dare to interfere in ‘his’ affairs. 
My heart sank today and I find myself once again a cosmopolitan and progressive patriot. Ukraine is not a member of NATO and we cannot intervene. What is becoming clear: EU and NATO must support their allies and we will have to invest significantly more in our defense capabilities. Putin cannot be allowed to win this war. Talks only make sense after he withdraws his troops unconditionally. It will be the hardest fight. The madness of war is staring us in the face.

How can we, as educational and technology experts remain silent?