Brexit POLL: Has EU exit helped in fight against Putin and to support Ukraine?
Ukraine: Stanley Johnson reacts to Boris’ Kyiv visit
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Britain has played a leading role in the West’s fight against Russian aggression, sending weapons, taking a hard line on Russian oil and gas, and cutting import tariffs for Ukrainian goods. Brexit has allowed the UK to act faster to target Russia, according to Bate Toms, chairman of the British-Ukrainian Chambers of Commerce.
He claimed the UK had been able to easily respond to the crisis thanks to the country’s position outside the EU.
He told Politico last month: “Britain is now again in its historic role protecting Europe from conquest, freed from having to get along within the EU.
“Historically, the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill saved Europe from itself, and the UK has this role again.”
The UK’s International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan also said that Brexit had helped the country’s response in enabling the UK to cut tariffs on Ukrainian goods.
She told Politico last month that this had been achieved through the free-trade agreement that was executed “at pace”.
This move was made before the EU proposed the same key decision, something that would have previously been impossible.
Head of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, Anand Menon, said Brexit Britain would want to beat the EU’s response to the crisis.
He explained: “The politics of Brexit meant that the Government wanted to be out there and being seen. It has a political point to prove.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Mr Johnson’s response and support for his country on several occasions.
He said the UK Prime Minister “is a leader who is helping more” than some EU counterparts, condemning those who have been slow to cut off Russian energy supplies which continue to fund the conflict.
Mr Johnson addressed the parliament in Kyiv via video link from London on Tuesday, May 3, and pledged a “new package of support” for the country with supplies arriving “in the coming weeks”.
So what do YOU think? Has Brexit helped in the fight against Putin and in supporting Ukraine? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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