“After British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s statement “We are not Amazon” that Ukrainians should be more grateful for the help, there are a lot of accents in the air that should be placed right now. When Ukraine is at a key stage of the war for existence.
And I believe that I, as one of the millions of Ukrainians who may die at any moment during this war, have the right to do so.
First of all, it is worth noting for our Western partners that the number of grateful Ukrainians is decreasing every day. Because grateful Ukrainians are dying. Every day. First of all, on the battlefield. And I can’t help but think that someone fully responsible for guarantees and security is still counting conditional risks, while Ukrainians count real lives by the hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands.
What is this battle for, Mr. Minister?
Is it a fight for Ukrainian territory or for the right to existence of the values that countries like the UK live by? If you think it is a fight for territory, then what are those values worth?
The democratic world has already proved that Ukraine made a mistake when it entrusted the democratic world with its security in exchange for guarantees of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We have fulfilled our guarantees, while the democratic world has not. Moreover, the situation has been brought to the point where Putin and his henchmen threaten to use these very nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine, and sometimes on Western countries, once a week.
If the Western world has come to a difficult moment when it is no longer able or has not the courage to defend the values that formed this world for prosperity and freedom, not decline and dictatorship, then perhaps the representatives of these countries should state this directly, rather than hinting and looking for guilty parties.
And first of all, they should tell their citizens. To say that the noisy British pubs can be empty at any time. That British veterans with no legs, no arms, and no eyes may appear on the streets of London. Just like in Kyiv.
Is the power that exists only until it is attacked sufficient?
We also thought that choosing the right path was enough to live a decent and safe life.
Ukrainians have already proven that they are ready to die to be part of the democratic world and NATO. Which NATO member state has done the same? Who paid a higher price for joining than us?
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have already given their lives for the values and freedom that you know will no longer be useful to them. But it is because of them that your country’s freedom remains safe, Mr. Wallace.
We are the generation that chose democracy and Western values. We were not born with them, like you, Mr. Wallace. We chose them consciously. Ukrainians went to their deaths for them. But what did we get in return?
For an ephemeral comatose stability by meeting the needs of the aggressor, you were ready to let our country die at the beginning of Russia’s invasion on February 24 last year. Just as your predecessors did with Czechoslovakia during World War II. Then the aggressor became only stronger, having gained new resources of an independent country.
I know that the United Kingdom has done more for us than any of our allies. That is why in the center of the Ukrainian capital you can even enjoy cakes named after Boris Johnson.
And you personally have certainly done a lot. Thank you.
But the next time you look at peaceful London, at the British men of military age walking cheerfully along the streets of Soho in the evening, at the bridges and railways, at the “beaches, fields, streets and hills,” ask yourself whether this world has done enough for those who have helped you to live your peaceful life. And what are you willing to give to keep it that way?
Because if you see what you see, it means that Ukraine has done and is doing enough. And we are not waiting for gratitude – we are still waiting for our due.
Because so far, Russia is ready to do much more against Ukraine than you are ready to do for Ukraine. And this is obvious.
Meanwhile, we are fighting to prove that what you live for and for the sake of has meaning and the right to exist.
We are dying for what you have been living with since birth. Your generation did not have to fight for freedom, but we are fighting for it – for our freedom and yours.
You are not Amazon for delivering weapons. But we are not a training ground for its use either.
We are a nation that strengthens the values of the free world with its daily sacrifices. Your losses in this war are money. Ours are lives.
And if not me, then listen to your honorable colleague. Listen to him as a man who saved the civilized world. Because he had to and could do it, not because he was waiting for gratitude.
“My purpose, as a man who lived and acted in those days, is to show how easily the tragedy of the Second World War could have been prevented; how the wickedness of the wicked was strengthened by the weakness of the honest; how the structure and customs of democratic states, until they are united into larger entities, lack those elements of perseverance and persuasion which can give confidence to the humble masses; how even in matters of self-preservation no policy is followed for ten or fifteen years in succession.
We will see how appeals for prudence and restraint can become the first factors of mortal danger; how the middle path chosen because of the desire for security and a quiet life can lead directly to the center of danger.
We will see how absolute is the need for broad international action by many states, despite the fluctuations in their domestic policies.” – Winston Churchill.
Thank you.”
Mykhailo Tkach
Tags: military aid russia ukraine war United Kingdom
