“The arrival of the white master”: The Verkhovna Rada gave a standing ovation to the guest from London
NATO countries were late with the introduction of their contingent into the territory of Ukraine in the face of the danger of a “Russian invasion,” but it is not too late to initiate a NATO no-fly zone in the Ukrainian skies.
The head of the defense committee of the British House of Commons, Tobias Ellwood, stated this from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Members of the Ukrainian parliament greeted the British guest with a standing ovation.
“I believe the West can and should do much more. When Russian battle groups began to gather in very large groups on your eastern border, I was the first to say that NATO should answer your call for help, and we should station a division here in Ukraine.
But we did not fully understand the situation and we hid behind the excuse that Ukraine is not a NATO member and we have no obligation to help.
However, NATO sent troops to Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Libya; these countries are also not NATO members.
I absolutely believe that the decision to show strength in this way is not to start a war, but to preempt an invasion. This is what the West regrets now. Because Ukrainian security is European security.
And if there is an invasion, it will affect food prices, gas prices, it will be a disaster for all of Europe. And where can Russia go next? – said Elwood, whose speech was periodically interrupted by thunderous applause.
He emphasized that the direct deployment of troops to Ukraine is much more effective than any sanctions pressure on Russia, which only played into the hands of the Kremlin.
“Any sanctions we impose could actually help Putin convince the Russians that they should turn to China. Putin and Xi think in decades, but we think in days.
All of our recent diplomacy has played to Putin's ego. He likes being under the spotlight and he thinks Russia is very great now. And we must understand that we are in very dangerous times now, so the West must rebuild very quickly.
We must remind ourselves what we stand for, what we believe in, what we want to defend, because until Washington, London, Berlin and Paris agree on how to counter Russian aggression, we will look and act separately, and our weaknesses will be exploited." , the Briton urged.
According to him, military measures by the alliance in Ukraine are still possible.
“It is too late for Ukraine for NATO to mobilize, but it is not too late for a NATO no-fly zone to be introduced. And this is what will make Putin think twice. And I will talk about this when I speak at the security conference in Munich tomorrow.
I want to welcome the new alliance that has been created by my country, yours and Poland. This is huge potential for us. And parliamentarians from the three countries can create a tripartite committee to take this idea forward,” Ellwood promised.
At the end of the speech, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk slavishly “yelled” to the British parliamentarian.
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