This week there can be no topic more important to write about than Ukraine. Not since the Second World War has Europe faced the threat of a large, pariah state attacking its neighbour. This unprovoked and illegal action has huge potential consequences for democracy. This invasion is against a country which historically had been part of its own family. Those close ties between Ukrainians and Russians led to many commentators believing that this invasion by Russia couldn’t happen. Sadly, they underestimated the fanaticism of Putin and his inability to accept the status of this sovereign independent country. His vision of a return to a Soviet Union by seizing power from friendly neighbour states is a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Western democracy and global stability.
Every day we observe in real time shocking scenes from Kyiv, a European capital which until last week was bustling with people going about their normal lives. We see images of tens of thousands of women and children fleeing the city on trains and the kindness of strangers as they arrive in neighbouring countries cold and hungry with few possessions. We see streets empty except of reporters sharing with us the atmosphere. Thanks to the bravery of our broadcast journalists who put themselves at the heart of the battle we experience the invasion through the eye of the world’s media in the same way that locals do.
We hear and are inspired by the Ukrainian’s commitment to fighting for their country, their determination to defend themselves against Russian invasion. Today they reported that 180 thousand weapons have been handed out to civilians. We learn of individual acts of heroism such as from Vitaly Skakun, who sacrificed his life to blow up the Henichesky Bridge. The bridge was mined but a Russian column was advancing and there was no time to detonate it remotely. Skakun radioed his unit and told them he would do it manual, and said goodbye.
The Ukrainian ambassador to London spoke of the solidarity of so many individuals approaching the embassy and asking how they can travel to Ukraine to help on the front line. The UK held a donor conference on Friday for 25 countries. The Germans have for the first time agreed to punitive sanctions and aid of defensive weapons. No country in the UN supports Russia. The power of the rest of the world to stand up to Russian aggression is significant, and is being harnessed for the first time in this way by sanctions including removing Russia’s access to money to wage war.
Putin has miscalculated. The grassroots battle in Ukraine against a dictator with nuclear capability is one which the world will not condone and cannot allow to go unpunished. The courage of Ukrainian leader, President Zelensky, has also been inspiring. Three years ago, he was an actor playing a Prime Minister. Now he’s donning a military kit, keeping the morale up and refusing the leave Kyiv, countering misinformation which claims he has left. When the United States offered him an exit he said, “I need ammunition, not a ride”. His strong leadership is essential to encourage the resistance of Ukrainian citizens.
I know that Stoke-on-Trent is renowned for its kindness and at this time I recall the story of Lidice. Our city demonstrated the empathy, compassion and understanding of human suffering in another land that led local people to back the “Lidice Shall Live” campaign. I am sure we will demonstrate the same compassion when asked to help if Ukrainian refugees arrive in the city or by supporting humanitarian organisations working in neighbouring countries to ensure those innocent victims of this conflict are looked after.
We will feel the effect of our sanctions against Russia in the months to come, but the price for doing nothing is so much higher. Let us not forget those harrowing pictures of ordinary citizens being shown how to make homemade bombs or given sub machine guns to protect their country in the call to arms in Ukraine. Let us not be immune to the accounts of children being gunned down simply because the invading soldiers wanted to take their family’s car.
We have a moral imperative to stand with Ukraine.
