UK would be wrong to drop support for Ukraine in war against Russia - Yorkshire Post Letters

GP Taylor’s article on Ukraine is the kind of article which Mr Chamberlain might have written after Munich in 1939.

Mr Taylor argues that we should not only stop sending weapons to Ukraine, but he also implies that we should leave Ukraine to its fate and wash our hands of any further responsibility.

I wonder if Mr Taylor is aware of the requirements of a memorandum on security assurances signed by Ukraine, Russia, USA and the UK on December 5, 1994, which has the full force and effect of an international treaty.

This committed Ukraine to give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons (which was almost as big as Russia’s is today) in return for Russia, USA and UK guaranteeing the independent sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russia has broken this treaty and it is therefore our duty under international law to enforce it.

In suggesting that we in effect let Russia overrun Ukraine, Mr Taylor is advocating that we make ourselves complicit to Russia’s breach of international law.

We have seen the murderous destruction of Ukraine’s cities by what has become one of the world’s most ruthless, backward looking dictatorships which is overtly seeking to re-establish the Tsarist Empire of the 19th century.

However, it is not just the pitiful suffering of a people in a far and distant country which should concern us. Putin would never have dared attack Ukraine if Ukraine had kept its nuclear arsenal. If Putin gets away with the conquest of Ukraine, every government in the world will know that the only way to guarantee their country’s independence is to create or maintain a stock of nuclear weapons to deter aggressors. The Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty will be seen as a paper tiger and the world will become a much more dangerous place.

And although Ukraine and other countries which have faced Russian aggression are a long way away, the consequences of Putin’s wars is the displacement of millions of people who come as migrants or refugees to the UK.

NATO never was a threat to Putin. NATO’s armies have been reducing since the end of the Cold War, and huge efforts have been made to improve relations with the Russian Federation. These have included trading arrangements, particularly the supply of oil to Europe – which sadly most of Europe has come to depend on.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has to be defeated. It’s not good enough to give just the bare minimum necessary to enable Ukraine’s forces to hold their ground. Don’t just send Ukraine 30 tanks – give them 300. This is the very least we can be expected to do, bearing in mind our obligations under the treaty.