Next month will see the second anniversary of Russia’s illegal of Ukraine. War is truly a horrible thing, but sometimes there is no alternative if you are dealing with a despicable regime like Russia that is determined to take you over. It feels apparent to me that Putin is hoping to outlast the resolve of the West to continue supporting Ukraine, with the weapons and ammunition it needs to continue defending itself against its much larger neighbour.
Some might say what happens there is nothing to do with us here in Crawley and we shouldn’t help Ukraine, but I’d strongly argue that not only is it the morally right thing to do, the consequences of not doing so would ultimately be greater and more costly.
The reality is that autocrats like Putin are emboldened by Western weakness and only hindered by strength. If Ukraine fell, he would not stop there. Not only that, but Ukraine falling to Russia would create a refugee crisis on a scale that we’ve never seen before.
I’m proud of our country’s leading role in Europe in supporting Ukraine, so I’m very pleased that this support has been assured for the long term by our Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Visiting Kyiv last Friday, Rishi set out a major new package of support and reaffirmed our close partnership with Ukraine.
The Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy signed an historic UK-Ukraine agreement on security cooperation. This agreement formalises a range of support that we have been and will continue to provide for Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defence industrial cooperation.
The UK will provide £2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024/25 which is an increase of £200 million on the previous two years, with a major push to rapidly procure and produce thousands of military drones. The funding will help to leverage the best of UK military expertise and defence production to ensure Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield, including in critical areas like long-range missiles, air defence, artillery ammunition and maritime security. Our resolve to help must stay resolute.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
17th January 2024
