Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Is now the time to make peace in Ukraine?

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, British press and public opinion has been firmly behind Volodymyr Zelensky. But is it healthy to look at any subject so uncritically? If a year or more of fighting will achieve nothing, then why prolong the bloodshed? The How To Academy has just held a debate about this delicate subject in London. The motion was ‘Now is the Time To Make Peace in Ukraine’. I went along, with some of the Spectator team. Our colleague Svitlana Morenets, who writes our weekly Ukraine email (sign up here), was speaking against the motion. It was a fascinating debate.

Peter Hitchens, opening for the motion, said that the British press was very good at whipping up fervour for war but not so good at campaigning for peace. His main quarrel, he said, is with countries who are ‘using Ukraine as a battering ram for reasons of their own’. Responsible citizens in our country, he said, ‘should question this a lot more than we do’. Mary Dejevsky, also supporting the motion, said that some British politicians are now speaking for Ukraine’s interests a bit better than they do British national interests. Ukraine, she said, had made things tougher for itself by bombing the Crimea bridge: it was warned not to by its allies, she said, and now Russia is taking our Ukrainian power plants in retaliation. Things are getting out of control. British support for Ukraine, Dejevsky said, is already starting to wane and Ukraine’s ‘blitz spirit’ may not last.

Morenets spoke about that spirit, saying that she spoke to her mum recently. ‘She and my brother had spent two days without electricity, phone signal or water. But my mum said to me: “I’m ready to spend all winter like this – I just want them to leave our country”’.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in