I’m in awe of such bravery, now we must ALL rally behind the Ukrainians
AFTER much umming and ahhing and a good deal of cajoling, yesterday the EU finally did the right thing and agreed to join Britain in strengthening sanctions against Putin, and in particular supporting a ban on Russia accessing the global Swift payments network.
If it took them a while to get with the programme, it’s not surprising. It’s not just that Brussels bureaucrats move at a snail’s pace, even in a crisis. It’s also that certain member states have become very dependent on Russian money, not least the Italians, who stand to lose billions from the sale of luxury goods to Putin’s kleptocrats.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has vehemently denied asking for an exemption to the payments ban. Still, it’s not a good look when, as one critic put it, the perception is that ‘selling Gucci loafers to oligarchs is more of a priority than hitting back at Putin’.
But the truth is this is only really the start of it. The kind of tough sanctions needed to really hurt Putin are the kind that are also going to hurt us too.
Politicians are going to have to make very tough choices. Between doing what’s morally right, however painful, or protecting their own short-term interests. We all know which comes more naturally.
Putin knows this; indeed, he is counting on it. He knows that organisations like the EU can barely authorise the purchase of a box of rubber bands without some lengthy consultation, let alone kiss goodbye to billions of euros for the sake of a non-member state. His best hope is that venality will outweigh morality, and that when push comes to shove we will bottle it.
That simply cannot happen. It may seem impossibly unfair and unjust after the misery we’ve all endured because of Covid. But this is not just the freedom of Ukraine that’s at stake here – it’s the whole of Europe’s.
The more reluctance we show to act decisively, the more Putin will sense weakness and exploit it. He’s already made clear what his intentions toward Finland and Sweden are, should they ally with Nato. ‘Serious repercussions,’ as his spokesman put it – and we all know what that means.
That is why we must rally behind the Ukrainian people. They are the first line of defence against this lunatic. And we are immensely lucky they are so resilient. The scenes of defiance and bravery on our television screens have been extraordinary. Their resolve is nothing short of inspirational, from the President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking on camera from the heart of the fighting in Kyiv, to the border guards who told a Russian warship to ‘go f*** yourselves’ before being blown to smithereens, to the grandmother chastising a Russian soldier as though he were a schoolboy. What a people, what a nation. Cultured, articulate, passionate – and unashamedly patriotic. Everyone I know feels the same: a sense of awe and respect.
No wonder they have such overwhelming support from pretty much every country. They have displayed the kind of heroism that almost belongs to another age. It deserves to be recognised and rewarded. On a political level, the best way we can do that is by unflinchingly agreeing to hit Putin with every sanction at our disposal, no matter the pain at home. As individuals, it means doing whatever we can to help safeguard the lives of those Ukrainians – many of them women and children – fleeing to safety via neighbouring countries.
That’s why today’s campaign by the Mail to raise funds for the refugees is so vital. It won’t defeat Putin, it won’t lessen the suffering of those caught up in this bloody war. But it will at least send a concrete message to the Ukrainian people that, man for man, woman for woman, we stand with them in their hour of need – and, perhaps just as importantly – we thank them for their sacrifice.
BREXIT, Covid – and now a war that threatens us all. Has any Prime Minister in living memory had to deal with as much as Boris Johnson over the past two years? As the ancient Chinese curse goes: ‘May you live in interesting times.’