Ukraine invasion: Archbishop of York said war is 'wake up call' for Europe

Stephen Cottrell condemned the “act of great evil” during a speech in the House of Lords, the day after Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine.

He also said Western nations must take “swift and cohesive action” to prevent further bloodshed and remember that economic sanctions will “mean many innocent Russians suffer as well”.

Russia forces, which have launched air strikes and ground attacks, are closing in on the capital Kyiv and more than 130 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have died in the fighting so far.

Britain, the US and the EU have hit Moscow with a concerted package of economic sanctions, but are facing calls to go further to exclude Russia from the international payment system Swift.

Mr Cottrell said: “Perhaps in the west, we have taken peace for granted. The horrors being visited on Ukraine must be a wake-up call for us that peace is something you need to work at.

“What is happening in Ukraine is truly shocking, but, sadly it is not surprising. We have seen it coming. Ukraine now stands alone, unprotected by the treaties that protect us and allow us to believe that peace is a normal state of affairs.”

“But it isn’t.

“Peace is a choice. It is a decision that we need to make each day about the way we live and about our responsibilities to and with our neighbour, be that in our family, in our local community, or between the nations of the world. And we need the policies, the wisdom, the tenacity and the international resolve that will deliver it.

“Previous generations knew this. They knew it, because they had experienced the horrors of war that most of us haven’t.”

The archbishop also said Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, which is not protected by NATO, is a “terrible, flagrant disregard of the Ukrainian people’s legitimate right to self-determination”.

He added: “Right now, as well as generous, humanitarian aid and support for refugees, about which I hope the minister will say more in his summing up – we need to know what is happening - we must use all our diplomatic muscle and energy, stringent economic sanctions, and focused political will to force Russia to step back from this aggression, withdraw its troops and silence the guns, not least because effective sanctions will mean many innocent Russians suffer as well.

“Our actions must be swift and cohesive if they are to be decisive.

“Jesus urged his followers to be peacemakers, not simply peace lovers. This is an important distinction, because it is a call to action.

“First, in support of Ukraine, and especially the many innocent children and families, potential refugees living with this conflict and its consequences, and support for those who are bravely protesting on the streets of Russia.

“But peace, lasting peace, requires more. It requires a new commitment to international instruments of law and order, accountability and investment so that we make peace and choose peace, not just hope to keep it.

“The suffering of Ukraine, the imperialist ambition of Russia, our own acceptance that ‘immoral flood of corrupt money that flows (from Russia) through London’ has to stop.”