‘History shows we must stand with Ukraine until Putin is defeated’
SOLIDARITY: A mural depicting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy under the words ‘Praise Ukraine’. Picture by Gleb Albovsky
The Accidental Diplomat, a column by Paul Knott
We honour our greatest generation by supporting Ukrainians’ heroism
Our response to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s attempts to bully us out of supporting Ukraine has been magnificent so far. Every effort by the thugs in the Kremlin to scare Europeans and North Americans into submission by committing atrocities, attempting energy blackmail and making nuclear threats has been met with stronger support for Ukraine instead. Thanks to the ingenuity and immense courage of the Ukrainian people making use of this backing against a much larger foe, the results are clear. Russia is losing. But it has not yet lost and maintaining our support for Ukraine in the face of the challenges still to come is crucial for our own freedom and security.
The apparently stray missile that killed two people in a NATO member state, Poland, this week highlighted the dangers caused by Russia’s assault on Ukraine, and the Putin regime will continue to pose an aggressive military threat to the whole of Europe, Britain included, until it is defeated. History shows how important it is that we help Ukraine to succeed in this task. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Spain’s democratic government produced a famous poster requesting support from the rest of Europe against the attacks of General Franco’s fascists. It bore the words “If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next”. Tragically, too many people and countries in Europe did tolerate it because they thought Spain was too far away to be their problem. And their children did turn out to be next because Franco’s fascist allies Hitler and Mussolini took encouragement from his triumph and started World War II soon afterwards.
The ‘Red Forest’ in Ukraine. Putin’s nuclear threats appear to have met with dire warnings diplomatically. Picture by Vladyslav Cherkasenko
Fortunately, we seem to have learned from such bitter experiences and support for Ukraine has been steadfast. This has helped the Ukrainian people to do something staggering. Rather than capitulate inside a week as the Kremlin expected, they first resisted and are now repeatedly forcing the Russian invaders to retreat towards their own border. But success brings its own challenges and we must be ready for them.
The Ukrainians have proven they will continue to fight to free their people and country from the horrors of Russian occupation, come what may. The only weakness Russia sees that might save it from defeat is a potential softening in the external support for Ukraine. As Putin becomes increasingly desperate to save his own skin, he will target this perceived weak link in every way he can.
Russian threats to use a nuclear weapon have receded of late. This appears to be a result of the discreet diplomatic messages passed to it by the US and Europe. There are indications these communications warned the consequences of such an attack would include a conventional military response by NATO to quickly destroy what is left of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine. There have also been suggestions that China has told Putin using a nuclear weapon would prompt them to reconsider their alliance with Russia.
Putin mistakenly thought withholding gas supplies would weaken support for Ukraine. Picture by Kwon Junho
Russia has, though, continued to hint dangerously about launching an atomic attack by other means, such as a “dirty bomb” (a conventional bomb packed with radioactive materials or nuclear waste) or sabotaging a nuclear power plant. If they have not done so already, all of the countries concerned should make clear to Russia that their response will apply to any form of nuclear aggression.
The nuclear issue is, of course, terrifying, which is why Putin uses it to try to sow fear amongst the Western public and their governments. If Russia’s worsening military situation in Ukraine prompts him to do so again, we should keep in mind that the Russians, Putin almost certainly included, have no more desire to die in a nuclear Armageddon than the rest of us. We should also recognise that failing to stand up to Moscow’s nuclear scaremongering will lead to them using the same threats every time they want something, placing us in permanent subservience to the demands of Putin’s war criminals.
Among Putin’s many miscalculations when launching his illegal war on Ukraine was the notion that Europe would rapidly capitulate if Russia withheld energy supplies. Instead, we have turned the tables by steadily sanctioning Russian state oil and gas companies (from which Putin and his cronies routinely loot the proceeds to line their own bulging pockets). Most European governments have also done a remarkable job of securing alternative supplies to get through the winter.
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The situation could still become difficult, though, if there is a particularly severe cold snap or other events further disrupt energy supplies. Prices will continue to be high for a while yet, although this is not entirely down to the situation in Ukraine and world market energy prices have started falling recently. Even so, this is perhaps the area that places the most direct demands on the general public to stand firm. Russian propaganda is going into overdrive in an attempt to stir up discontent within the countries supporting Ukraine.
The better-off parts of the population who can pay their temporarily higher bills should, frankly, accept this as being the price of freedom. For everyone else, governments such as Britain’s which are not doing enough to protect their people from high bills have to do more. Imposing windfall taxes on the unearned profits energy companies are making from the elevated oil and gas prices and using them to compensate their customers is essential. The Russian trap we must not fall into, though, is blaming the victim and believing that simply reducing our support for Ukraine would lower our energy bills. It won’t because the current global energy supply situation is much more complicated than that.
By continuing to stand firmly with Ukraine until it prevails, we will also do ourselves a lot of long-term good in the process. Defeating the vicious Putin dictatorship (which, lest we forget, has previously committed murderous attacks with nuclear and chemical weapons materials on British soil) will end the security threat it poses to us too. Sanctions on Russia are starting to ease the long-running corrosion of our legal, political and economic system by corrupt Russian money. Our energy needs are now being met from more reliable sources than Russia, including accelerating the essential switch from fossil fuels to clean energy. And by standing on the right side of history in supporting Ukrainians’ heroism, we will be honouring the sacrifices of our own greatest generation who fought off the similar threat to freedom posed by Putin’s fascist predecessors.