‘We first’ beats ‘me first.’ Ukraine war revives Western alliances.

Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.

These wise words – best known these days through the English saying “a friend in need is a friend indeed” – were written by the Roman poet Quintus Ennius nearly 2,500 years before Vladimir Putin dramatically intensified Russian missile assaults on Ukraine this week.

But Ennius’ insight has taken on new relevance as America and Western Europe chart their response to the latest escalation in the war.

So far, Mr. Putin’s invasion has had the effect of bringing old friends back together: reviving a divided and demoralized NATO, and giving the diverse nations of Western Europe a renewed sense of common purpose.

It has reminded leaders on both sides of the Atlantic of the value of alliances, especially in times of need. It has strikingly rebalanced the arguments in a vital geopolitical debate: me first, versus we first.