Europe is being confronted with one of its largest crises since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. On the 24th of February 2022, Russia began a military invasion of Ukraine, sending shockwaves throughout the continent. The aggression of Russia is an unprecedented act of iniquity. The unrest is deeply alarming for all European countries, which showed with their decisive responses to the crisis, more unity in ten days from the start of the war, than they have in the last ten years. This unanimity also reflects the concerns of the European leaders that if Putin's aggression succeeds, Russia might not stop its endeavors at the Ukrainian borders. The Central European countries deeply affected by the war, being in close proximity to Ukraine, reacted quickly, by supporting the strongest sanctions in history and sending direct military assistance to Kyiv. Known for their slow, foreign policy decisions, often complicated by internal division, these countries didn't hesitate to take pivotal steps this time, to help Ukraine, including decisions to deliver lethal weapons to a third country; to support openness to EU membership for the bloc's eastern neighbor after years of enlargement fatigue; and to grant temporary residency to Ukrainian refugees according to the 2001 Temporary Protection Directive.
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