Let us hope that peace may be quickly restored

The events in Ukraine over the last few weeks have changed our world in ways that it is not yet possible to fully comprehend. Arundel and South Downs has residents from Ukraine, Russia and Poland and our thoughts and prayers are with them.

As well being a human tragedy for millions, it is intensely sad for all of us of an age that revelled in the freedoms that the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 brought to our continent.

As I write, the situation continues to develop but the Ukraine people are putting up a strong resistance.

They need support from their allies with weaponry, ammunition, medical supplies, and communications.

The United Kingdom was the first country in Europe to commit lethal aid and we continue to do all that we can to ensure it reaches them.

The Prime Minister was the first major western leader into Kyiv and we’ve been leading in Nato as the first country to commit forces to the reinforcement of the eastern flank.

The UK was also the first in the G7 to push for Russian removal from Swift, the first to ban Aeroflot from our airspace and, most importantly of all, the first to say unequivocally and publicly, that Putin must fail.

The values of democracy, freedom and self determination are ones which we all understand.

There is a cost to all of us – higher energy prices for one – in standing up for our values but it is a fraction of the price being paid by our friends in Ukraine.

We all share the responsibility to act. While the interconnected nature of a globalised economy means that the impact of some sanctions will, inevitably be felt here too.

The Government will do everything possible to shelter our country, our people and our industries from the impact of such action, but sometimes, there is no hiding place or middle ground: you have to pick a side.

The world simply cannot afford for Putin to succeed in Ukraine. If this aggression goes unanswered, he will not be the only despot who is emboldened.

Ukraine will not be the only territory threatened and violated.

The world will become a less stable, less predictable, and less safe place for communities and businesses alike.

Ultimately, the lesson from the end of the USSR, apartheid South Africa and socialist Cuba and Venezuela is that global, interconnected free market economies, trading openly will always triumph over those that have to operate on a closed basis and to bear the additional costs of oppressing their own people.

Let us hope that Putin’s failure is swift and that peace may be quickly restored once more.