EU betrayed Ukraine by rubbing out red line
But in the gilded chancelleries of EU nations, courage is in lamentably short supply.
While words of denunciation have rolled off their tongues, the bloc's pusillanimous and self-serving politicians have refused to hit Vladimir Putin's gangster regime with the most painful economic sanctions.
A full-scale invasion was supposed to be a 'red line' – triggering instant, brutal retaliatory measures. Instead, the EU is turning that red line a watery pink.
It has dismissed Boris Johnson's pleas to eject Russia from Swift, the world's biggest financial payments system.
Such a move could cripple the regime's economy, making Putin think twice about fresh aggression.
But the bloc says this should be a 'last resort'.
This begs the question what, if not an unprovoked attack on a sovereign country, would be sufficient provocation?The squalid truth is, while Ukrainians die defending their homeland, our erstwhile EU partners want to trade oil, gas and – incredibly – luxury fashion goods with the Kremlin. It is profoundly immoral.
Thankfully, because of Brexit we can go further and faster on sanctions than the shabby, sclerotic so-called super-state.
Absurdly, the EU boasts that it – not Nato – is responsible for peace in Europe.
Now, that fig leaf lies exposed. By failing to punish Putin with the harshest sanctions, it has not only lost its moral compass. It has delivered a devastating blow to Ukraine's fight for survival.One shocking aspect of the war is that it is happening at all.
Because, for many years, governments convinced us that state-on-state conflict had gone the way of the Zeppelin.
With armed combat raging in Ukraine, how foolish that conceit seems now.
Britain, depressingly, is making a pig's ear of each. With the war pushing up energy costs, we must end our dangerous reliance on volatile regimes to keep our lights on.
If ever a moment was screaming for us to exploit North Sea gas reserves and build nuclear power stations, it is now.
Food prices, too, are soaring – especially wheat. Yet the Government seems obsessed with turning our countryside into a rewilding theme park for the Notting Hill set.
Wouldn't it be better to have a proper agricultural strategy and grow more crops ourselves?
And the rekindled knowledge that conflagration can flare up at any time should be a warning to stop running down Britain's military capabilities.
A properly manned and equipped Armed Forces not only fights effectively, but deters aggression.
For too long, we have been naively cavalier about the threats to our critical sectors. We must take off the rose-tinted glasses.
The exodus of frightened, desperate people fleeing the warzone is heartbreaking.
This humanitarian catastrophe could see millions displaced from their homes to refugee camps.
That is why the Mail urges the Government to ensure Britain takes in its fair share.
Of all Europe's countries, the UK has the noblest tradition of offering sanctuary.
From the Kindertransport children rescued from the Nazis to the Syrian families forced out by Assad, we have welcomed them with open arms.
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