Vive Ukraine

When did it become obvious to you that Putin is a fascist? A mob boss? A dictator hell bent on ruling forever? Did it take until he invaded Ukraine this week? Why not when his agents using a chemical weapon to try to murder two people in Salisbury in 2018? That – make no mistake – was an Act of War. Why not when one of his missiles was used to shoot down a passenger jet in 2014, killing nearly 300 people? Why not when his insurgents, armed by the Kremlin , caused conflict in the Donbas that same year? Why not when he invaded Georgia, for no good reason?

Why not when you read about his Wagner mercenaries waging violence around the world, often for no better reason that because they can? Why not when he murdered a dissident in London with a radioactive agent, one of the most toxic substances known to man? Or any of the other murders committed within NATO countries? Why not when he sanctioned use of chemical weapons in Syria?

When did you first notice that he was breaking all the established norms of the post war era? When did you first notice that democracy in Russia had died? If you are an ardent Trump supporter, then maybe you haven’t. If you are a Farage cheering Brexiter, then likewise. The message from these camps has been pretty clear over the last few days. They are Putin’s useful idiots. His paid support. They’ve aligned themselves with fascism.

There is only one course of action to take. I’m entirely with Garry on this. It should have been taken many years ago. Not simply rounds of sanctions. But total isolation. A Russian should know that they will never be allowed to step foot in the free world. To invest. To save. To do business. No Russian should be allowed to play their sport beyond their own borders. No oligarch should have a safe haven to dash to when things turn sour with Vlad. Expulsion from every organisation and feature of the free world.

Not simply until Ukraine is free from Russian troops. But until Russia is free from Putin and his tyranny.