Ramp up support for Ukraine’s epic feat of resistance
THE WAR in Ukraine is entering a new phase of barbarism. Frustrated by the heroic resistance of the defenders, Vladimir Putin is intensifying the scale and savagery of his onslaught.
Cluster bombs, cruise missiles and thermobaric weapons are deployed at civilian targets.
A vast, 40-mile-long Russian convoy snakes its menacing way towards the capital Kyiv.
The Kremlin boasts its forces are in full control of Kherson in southern Ukraine, while other cities like Mariupol and Kharkiv are encircled and suffering relentless bombardment.
The agony of Ukraine will go down as one of the darkest episodes in the annals of modern Europe. Freedom, democracy and humanity are being crushed by an unhinged dictator without any direct military response from theWest.
It is this sense of impotence in the face of unprovoked butchery that has understandably led to widespread demands for tougher action.
Some propose Nato sends in troops to fight the Russians. More frequent are calls for a no-fly zone over the country.
It is a step one tearful Ukrainian activist publicly urged Boris Johnson to take at a press conference during his visit to Poland on Tuesday.
But Britain and other Nato countries adamantly refuse to make such a move, which would represent a dramatic and dangerous escalation in the conflict.
AS DEFENCE Secretary Ben Wallace points out, a no-fly zone would mean British and Allied planes having to shoot down Russian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace. Such combat would be a declaration of war and soon all of Europe would be engulfed by a violent cataclysm, made all the more perilous by Putin’s irrationality and his veiled threats to use nuclear weapons.
Not only has he put his deadly arsenal on high alert but he has warned Nato that, in the event military intervention, “the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history”.
Yet even without a no-fly zone, there are still powerful measures the West could adopt to bolster Ukraine’s defence and isolate Russia.
Probably the most important is to increase the supply of military equipment, especially antitank and anti-aircraft weapons.
European and North American countries have already made substantial shipments of small arms, grenade launchers, surface-to-air missiles, thermal imagers and drones, but much more could be done now that Ukraine is engaged in a life-and-death struggle for its existence.
In particular, fighter jets for Ukraine’s air force would be invaluable against Russian tanks. Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell triumphantly announced that such reinforcements would be provided, made up largely of Soviet-era MiG-29s from Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
Altogether it was envisaged 70 aircraft would be supplied. Unfortunately, this decision was later reversed, with the three countries arguing they could not spare any planes. Given Ukraine’s desperate needs, the policy should be revisited.
Aside from equipment, the West could undermine Russia’s military capacity with intelligence and cyber-attacks. These are fields where Britain and the USA lead the world.
According to Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the National Cyber Force can “degrade, disrupt and even destroy critical capabilities and infrastructure of those who would do us harm”.
In addition, the West’s sanctions against Russia are starting
to bite. Its economy is in crisis, the rouble in freefall, and inflation out of control. This is the moment to punish the Kremlin ever further. A cap could be imposed on Russian exports of gas, oil and coal – vital to the regime’s survival.
PENALTIES could be imposed on ship owners and insurers, making Russian goods unmovable. Foreign assets could be frozen and travel bans imposed, turning Putin’s cronies into pariahs.
In this age of interconnected globalism, the growing boycott of Russia is having a massive impact. Exclusion from sporting competitions, cultural events and diplomatic exchanges are not just gestures. They will help turn the Russian public against their tyrannical leader.
Even as Ukraine is pulverised all is not lost.
In the winter of 1939-1940, brave Finns fought the Soviet invader to a standstill.
Despite vastly inferior numbers, they had courage, national pride and daring tactics on their side against a Stalin war machine intent on conquest.
Today, with substantial Western support, Ukraine could repeat that epic feat.
‘Its economy is in crisis, the rouble in freefall and inflation out of control’