To analyse. Since the beginning of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the decisions of Western governments have accelerated so much that it has become perilous to issue definitive judgments on their choices. Let’s try a hot assessment of the post-Brexit United Kingdom, faced with its worst crisis since the Second World War.
In a context of dramatic rise in geopolitical risks, Brexit appears to be a handicap, even a historical error. What is the interest for the British of turning their back on the European Union (EU) at a time when the latter is resuming its primary dimension: that of an alliance for peace and democracy? When does it become desirable again? The power of the Ukrainian message is considerable: President Volodymyr Zelensky implores Brussels to grant ” immediately “ membership to Ukraine. Georgia and Moldova are following suit and have applied for membership.
The rhetoric is certainly there: Boris Johnson has very harsh words to condemn the Putin regime. He already considers him responsible for “war crimes”calls for it to be treated “like an outcast”, repeats that he must fail” and supports “the toughest sanctions package ever decided” against Russia. Reacting promptly to the Russian invasion, London closed its ports to ships flying the Russian flag, its airports to Russian companies. Mr Johnson has been a strong advocate for disconnecting Russian banks from the Swift system and has announced a halt to Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
Sharing its intelligence data with Washington, London feared an invasion of Ukraine very early on. The United Kingdom was the first European country, in mid-January, to send defensive weapons – anti-tank missiles – to the Ukrainian government, then to announce the reinforcement of NATO troops in Estonia. Support welcomed by President Zelensky. On Wednesday March 9, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced ” to study “ sending anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
Decisions taken in Washington and Brussels
By contrast, Boris Johnson’s hand appears to be shaking when it comes to sanctioning the oligarchs – the list of Kremlin-bound fortunes sanctioned by London is half as long as its European version. Would he find it difficult to turn the page on the venal relations between the Tories and Russian multi-millionaires (the Conservative Party has received £2 million in donations from Britons of Russian origin since mid-2019)? Liz Truss, its foreign minister, prefers to accuse a cumbersome sanctions regime to implement, less flexible than that of the EU. Above all: the Ministry of the Interior (Home Office) is absolutely not up to the Ukrainian humanitarian challenge and distributes visas in dribs and drabs when the EU opens its doors wide to women, children, students fleeing the war .
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