Bombs will not dampen a nation’s love of liberty

VLADIMIR Putin may hope the sight of a 40 mile-long convoy of Russian tanks and vehicles north of Kyiv will terrify Ukrainians into surrender.

But the 44 million-strong population has already demonstrated a strength that is mightier than an autocrat’s army. These people will never abandon their dream of a free and independent country.

With good reason, Volodymyr Zelensky’s translator became emotional yesterday as the Ukrainian president addressed the European Parliament via video-link.

“We are fighting for our rights, for our freedom, for our lives and now we are fighting for our survival,” Mr Zelensky said.

There is the awful possibility that Russian forces will respond to setbacks by unleashing carnage throughout Ukraine, slaughtering civilians and pounding the great cities of the giant country to rubble.

Putin is desperate to avoid humiliation and defeat, which would imperil his grip on power in Moscow, and he appears oblivious to his pariah status. It is horrendous and bewildering that the leader of the homeland of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy has disgraced his nation, despatching its troops to fight a needless war of naked aggression.

As Boris Johnson warned, “everybody involved in the onslaught” should know they could face prosecution for war crimes.

Even China says it “deeply regrets” the conflict. While MEPs gave the Ukrainian president a standing ovation, dozens of envoys attending a UN human rights forum walked out when Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov started speaking.

International isolation will be followed with the evaporation of support for Putin at home when grieving Russian families ask why their sons were sent to die in a shameful war.

Putin must realise that he stands no chance of winning the support of Ukrainian citizens who have repeatedly rejected his attempts to bring their nation back into the Kremlin’s orbit. Even if the brave soldiers who have done so much to frustrate Russia’s advance are defeated, Ukrainians will never be absorbed into their neighbour.

It is in Putin’s interest to stop further escalation and so avoid the economic catastrophe if Russia is dragged deeper into a war it cannot truly win.

Discussion of international conflicts inevitably focuses on the decision-makers but the frightened yet courageous people of Ukraine should know that they have won the respect of the civilised world.

We hope and pray that this terrible conflict will end without them suffering further injury and bereavement.

Putin will never capture the independent spirit that shines in their hearts. He will only inflame their desire to live, work and love in liberty and that longing will never be crushed.