By Therese Raphael
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to Britain Wednesday hat in hand, literally. The war-torn country’s leader paused his speech in the historic 900-year-old Westminster Hall to present Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle the helmet of one of Ukraine’s ace fighter-pilots with the inscription, “we have freedom. Now give us the wings to protect it.”
Speaking in English and dressed simply in those familiar khaki fatigues, Zelenskiy appealed for modern jet fighters, but he gave the MPs something beyond planes to think about.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___Zelenksiy made Britain the first stop on his second foreign trip since Russia’s invasion almost a year ago, in recognition of Britain’s pivotal role in supporting Ukraine from the early days of the war. He name-checked Boris Johnson and that felt right.
Whatever his many flaws, Johnson understood that Ukraine’s fight was also a fight against authoritarianism generally, a battle to preserve the postwar rules-based order and one on which the very credibility of the West depended.
Johnson expedited the delivery of weapons and other support to Ukraine, making Britain the second-largest provider of military aid after the US and a major trainer of Ukrainian soldiers. He built a unique rapport with Zelenskiy, with four visits to Kyiv in 2022. There had been some worries that current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak didn’t share Johnson’s fire for the cause. As chancellor of the exchequer, Sunak had supported sanctions against Russia, but stressed that they “are not cost free for us at home.” More focused on balancing the books and putting out domestic fires, would Sunak play a key role in maintaining public support and the western coalition as those costs mounted?
Most of those fears were laid to rest when Sunak became prime minister. He made Kyiv his first foreign visit, presided over additional defense aid and made Britain the first western nation to send main battle tanks, though the number of Challenger 2 tanks is largely symbolic.
Wednesday’s visit dismissed any doubts Sunak would “go wobbly” — to borrow Margaret Thatcher’s famous admonition to George Bush. Sunak didn’t promise planes at this stage, but he did offer Ukrainian pilots training on NATO-standard planes. A new set of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals was also announced.
Still, the Ukrainian leader needed to foster the broad-based political, public and media support that has sustained his fight. The genius of Zelenskiy’s address was that it went straight to the national heart. He made Britain’s lawmakers feel that his mission was also part of their DNA. He tied Britain’s long history to his nation’s existential battle, Britain’s sense of national character to Ukraine’s existential cause.
He had warm words of gratitude for King Charles III for his support back when he was still Prince of Wales. But there was also perspective: “In Britain, the king is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”
Zelenskiy spoke of his visit, well before Russia’s invasion, to Churchill’s War Rooms, when he was invited to sit in the armchair where the World War II hero made life-and-death decisions in Britain’s moment of historic peril. He said only now could he understand what the feeling it gave him meant. “And all Ukrainians know it perfectly well too. It is a feeling of how bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory.”
What would they get at the end of this long, costly and bloody war? He had no doubt that the result would be victory for Ukraine. But he also held out the prospect of something bigger; victory, he said would change the world. “The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most, I think, the most important victory of our lifetime. It will be a victory over the very idea of the war.” It would send a message to any aggressor that an attack against the international order would result in defeat.
That wasn’t to call this the war to end all wars. Evil is part of the human condition, he acknowledged and other wars would happen. But, he told lawmakers, “it is in the power of our words and deeds to ensure that the light side of human nature prevails.”
In pure national interest terms, a Ukrainian victory would put the UK in a position to benefit economically from increased trade and a role in reconstruction. And it would substantially improve the UK’s international standing.
National myths can be dangerous things, as indeed Putin has demonstrated in waging this war. In recent years, Britain has fought a faux war for “freedom” from European Union laws. It has divided the country, distracted its leaders, left it poorer and often feeling worse about itself. In the battlefields of Kharkiv and Bakhmut, and in Zelenskiy’s daily reality and plea for help, comes a reminder of what it is like when real freedom is at stake. “The world needs your leadership, Britain, just as it needs Ukrainian bravery,” Zelenskiy told lawmakers.
He will now take his message to Paris and Brussels, but by coming to Britain first he was both asking for help and offering a kind of redemption.
Read more:
- Gideon Rachman: World’s democracies need to stick together, but a united front on Ukraine and China is getting harder
- Ukraine and the music of diplomacy
- Understanding the outrage in Ukraine
© 2023 Bloomberg L.P.
