The United Kingdom has a long history of engagement with Europe. That engagement over the centuries has taken many forms, including trade, culture, migration, and wars. In the last century, the UK took a leading role in helping to defend the continent from aggressive, anti-democratic forces. In 1940, Winston Churchill became an international statesman and led the allies to victory over fascist Germany and Italy.
Europe is now faced with an aggressive Russia seeking to use force and other destructive methods to overturn democracy and occupy a sovereign neighbouring country, Ukraine. Two recent UK prime ministers, Johnson and Sunak, with the backing of the UK Parliament and nation, have been unswerving in their support for Kyiv in its fight against the aggressor Russia. And the UK was not alone in offering that support because NATO, including the USA, offered that support too.
Now, the basis for that support has been completely upended. The recent activities of Elon Musk, the speeches of US Defence Secretary Hegseth and Vice President Vance at the Munich Conference, and of the US Secretary of State Rubio in Riyadh, and the comments by Donald Trump, make clear that the new US Administration takes a very different approach to European security and support for Ukraine from the previous Biden Administration. The disgraceful scenes in the Oval Office on Friday have served only to underline the new US position.
In short, they wish to negotiate a separate deal with Russia, without the presence of Ukraine or other European allies. Hegseth said that European security was not a priority for the USA, Vance said the threat to European security came from within Europe and its democracy rather than from Russia, Rubio said that the USA wanted to capitalise on the economic opportunities presented by a defeated Ukraine, and President Trump said that the war in Ukraine was Ukraine’s fault for not securing a deal with Russia three years ago.
It was also said that the USA would not provide a military presence in Ukraine to support any peacekeeping force there. Trump repeated talking points from Moscow that President Zelensky was an illegitimate President with very little support in the country. Moscow has said that it will not accept NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, and the USA has not contradicted that.
This is such a complete about-turn in American foreign policy that it presents an extremely grave crisis and threat for European security and for Ukraine’s continued fight against the Russian invasion.
Sir Keir, you recently signed a 100-year UK/Ukraine security cooperation deal with President Zelensky. There is no doubting your own personal commitment to that, or that of your government. But that alone will not be anywhere near enough to guarantee Ukraine’s survival as an independent sovereign state.
Now that the USA is effectively withdrawing its support from Ukraine and actively cooperating with Russia to sell Ukraine’s independent future down the river, a major new European initiative is required to support Ukraine and guarantee its security. I’m sure you are fully aware of the threat posed by Russia to other European nations in the event that the defence of Ukraine fails.
European countries, if acting together and in a coordinated way, have a much larger economy, population, and army than Russia. That force urgently needs to be mobilised and brought to bear in defence of Ukraine. Ukraine’s future should not be left to negotiations between the aggressor, Russia, and the USA, which has now reversed its previous policy of support for Ukraine to one of enmity.
Europe would have many strong cards to play. The Russian economy is badly weakened by the war. There are $200 billion of frozen Russian assets outside Russia which could be deployed to help Ukraine. Sanctions could be tightened. The Budapest Memorandum, whereby the US, the UK, and Russia agreed to provide future security to Ukraine in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons, could be reversed, since Russia and now the USA have reneged on the deal.
Sir Keir, Europe now needs strong leadership to bring about a powerful and coordinated response to the withdrawal of the USA and the vital need for ongoing security support for Ukraine. That is the only way to ensure Ukraine does not fall and our security agreements with Ukraine are honoured. And you are the very best person to become the motivating leader which is now required. You are in office for another four and a half years at least and you have the strong backing of your government and the nation as a whole in this endeavour, whereas other leaders of large nations in Europe are facing immediate election battles or negotiations to stay in office.
NATO is a fully functioning existing military alliance, and even without the USA would be a formidable deterrent to Russia. The European Union is a strong, unifying force on the continent.
Sir Keir, I believe you should organise, coordinate, and lead the willing participant countries and organisations including NATO, the EU, and Ukraine to establish a coordinated force to resist Russia and support Ukraine. The first task of that group would be to deny the right and authority of Russia and the USA to make a peace plan separately from Ukraine and European allies. Advice would be required from the NATO Secretary General on the process for NATO decision-making by consensus, given that the USA, by separately coordinating with Russia over Ukraine, has itself broken the consensus principle.
Sir Keir, your statesmanship and leadership at a European level is now an urgent and vital matter. Please do not fail us in this our hour of need. Thank you.
Paul Ryder
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