The war in Ukraine began with the invasion in 2022, but it was not the beginning of Russia’s genocide in that country. The legal definition of that word should remove anyone’s doubt as to Russia’s end goals.
Nor was the beginning of genocide in the occupation of the Crimea in 2014. Go back a little under 100 years ago to an event in the 1930s known in Ukraine as the Holodomor (roughly translated as ‘killing by hunger’). This claimed the lives of somewhere between five and seven million people, caused by an artificial famine perpetrated by Russia to exploit and starve the Ukrainian people, by using their grain as purchasing power and as proof that communism worked. It didn’t.
Ukraine sees brutal history repeating
But why is this relevant today? Russian history shows that brutality is nothing new: Cem Kumuk, writing in the Journal for Central and Eastern European History and Politics, states: “Throughout history, violence has been an indispensable part of the Russian state tradition”, from Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II, from the Circassian Genocide in the 19th century to Stalin.
It was never about ideology. Look at how Russia has acted, regardless of whether the ideology was a monarchy, communism or the strange dictatorship hybrid system they have now. The problem is the Russian government mindset. However, we must at this point differentiate between ordinary Russians who are imprisoned and killed by the government and successive regimes. We have seen this movie before. If Russia were to be successful, the death toll in Ukraine would be in the millions. Already, rape as a weapon of war has been reported, as has brutal mass murder in areas such as Bucha.
With this historical perspective in mind, Russia, if not stopped, is likely to commit genocide in Ukraine and with Ukraine subjugated, would be in possession of a large part of the global food supply, The European Council reports that “Ukraine is the largest exporter of sunflower oil (50% of world exports), the third largest one of barley (18%), the fourth largest one of maize (16%) and the fifth largest one of wheat (12%)”, giving it the ability to manipulate and blackmail ; let’s not forget how Putin and his government threaten nuclear offensives.
Ukraine and the UK have special ties
Russia has been an ‘on and off’ enemy of the UK for over 100 years. Regardless of the ideology of the Russian government at any one time, it is more often than not inimical.
Ukraine is one of the UK’s most important allies. There is a genuine special relationship between the UK and Ukraine. The 100-year treaty between our two countries may not be well known, but is a wonderful achievement, covering co-operation on military, security and economic matters and more. There is much to concern us in modern politics, with democracy under threat as more and more corruption is exposed. In contrast, the 100-year treaty between the UK and Ukraine is something to be celebrated.
Ukraine has much to offer the UK and the world. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, and the food it supplies provides another reason to make Ukraine one of our most important allies. Trading Economics reports that UK imports from Ukraine totalled US$930.65mn in 2024, of which about US$513.88mn was food and food products. When the war ends, and it will, I believe our two nations will integrate even more closely, especially if both nations finally gain European Union membership.
Ukraine is a bulwark against Russia’s European ambitions
It is not just food insecurity and the very real threat of mass murder that mean we should oppose Russia. By arming Ukraine we are stimulating our own weapons industries and a large amount of the funding allocated to Ukraine is being put into American and European weapons, creating jobs, income and assisting our economies.
Ukraine is not Russia; it wants to be European, it wants protection. Ukraine has done everything asked of it, from surrendering the third largest nuclear arsenal in 1994, clamping down on corruption, to trying to meet the challenges expected of a nation wanting to join the EU during a war. A Ukraine dominated by Russia sends a signal, normalising conquest, rape, murder and invasion. This could well embolden Chinese plans for Taiwan, for example.
Women’s rights could also be endangered; in February 2025, a woman living in the occupied Crimea was “fined 50,000 roubles ($500) for ‘promoting the appeal of a child-free lifestyle’.” On the global stage, there is the rollback of Roe v Wade in the U.S, the morality police in Iran and we should not forget Afghanistan, which makes the Handmaid’s Tale look tame. We cannot accept the normalising of mass rape and violence against women in mainland Europe. Once normalised there, it will be normalised everywhere.
Ukrainian soldiers fight on for us all
Russia must be fought, and there’s one final reason why Ukraine must be supported – because it’s their soldiers who are doing the fighting, not us. Its brave soldiers die every day not only defending their own country from the inhumane actions of Russia’s military forces, but in effect protecting all Europe from the risk of a predatory neighbour.
In my experience, there are no better, fairer, more decent and polite people than Ukrainians, values which the British might well see themselves as sharing. The attacks on Ukraine evoke the spirit of the Blitz. Then there is the valour of President Zelenskyy, surely a leader that any country would be glad to have.
I am proud to have made Ukrainian friends, to learn such a poetic language and that our two nations are bonded by a treaty that I am sure will outlive me by many years.
Slava Ukraini!
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