For three years, Ukraine, led by the democratically-elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended itself against the odds. Last week I and my Scottish Labour colleagues joined the Ukrainian community in Scotland to mark the anniversary of the illegal full-scale Russian invasion and commemorate the lives lost. Countless Scots have supported Ukraine’s fight, whether by supporting refugees or showing solidarity in other ways.
No one wanted to see the scenes that unfolded on Friday night at the White House, but it has become clear that this could be a generation defining moment for peace and security in Europe. It requires serious, grown up leadership, and Keir Starmer spent this weekend meeting world leaders, including President Zelenskyy, assembling a coalition of the willing to find a path that will ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty is backed up by strong security guarantees. As one of Ukraine’s biggest backers so far and one of the major players on the world stage, it is important that the United States is brought along on this process, even if Europe must now do the heavy lifting to assure peace on the continent.
What everyone should now be focused on is how we get a resolution that delivers a lasting peace. This means finding a way to work together for long-term peace in Europe, not only agreeing the terms of a peace deal, but ensuring that peace is then robustly defended. This also means taking tough decisions like prioritising defence spending, which the UK Labour Government is doing, increasing defence investment to 2.5% by April 2027. This is the biggest boost to defence spending since the Cold War, and is clearly now vital for keeping Scotland, the UK and our allies safe. But, ultimately, if the result is a lasting peace in Europe, it will have been worth it.
Scottish Labour will continue to support a free and democratic Ukraine and the UK Government’s determination to bring a just peace and end the danger of further war on our continent.