Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly argued that he wants to rewrite Europe’s security architecture. That is now happening, two weeks after his troops invaded Ukraine — just not in the way Mr Putin had hoped. Russia had demanded that Ukraine give up its desire to join NATO and promise to stay neutral between Moscow and the West, much like Finland, which has committed to not taking sides for more than a century. But the Kremlin’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has sparked more than a massive humanitarian crisis: it has made multiple European nations fundamentally upend decades of caution against military interventionism to instead line up against Moscow. Finland, which itself fought the ‘Winter War’ against the more powerful Soviet Union in 1939, has supplied weapons to Ukraine. Germany, which previously refused to send arms to Kyiv, has performed an about-turn and is also sending ammunition and missiles, while increasing spending on its own defence. Switzerland, which stayed neutral throughout the Cold War, has joined tough Western economic sanctions against Russia. And in Sweden and Finland, public support for joining NATO is at an all-time high. The two countries also participated as guests at a recent summit of the military alliance led by the United States of America. Meanwhile, Moldova, another former Soviet republic, has applied for European Union membership.

All this is a reminder of the limitations of brute military force — where Ukraine, even with the help of its partners, cannot match Russia. It is a testament to the continuing power of morality and public perception in diplomacy — where Russia has already lost this war. To be sure, tech-savvy Ukrainian social media influencers and hackers have helped amplify stories of valour that have exaggeration, if not fiction, woven into them. But there is no denying the scale of human suffering, as millions of Ukrainians have picked up essential belongings and trudged to the country’s west, hoping to cross the border into neighbouring nations. Every Russian missile strike on civilian areas that is caught on camera goes viral on social media, calling a lie to Moscow’s claims that it is only targeting military facilities. And Mr Putin’s self-defeating censorship of media in Russia is only making it harder for anyone to trust the Kremlin’s version. There are lessons here for all nations that have simmering border disputes. Nothing can replace military might. But what is morally right matters, even in these cynical times.