Newark MP Robert Jenrick remembers hallow words of Putin speech as Russian invasion of Ukraine continues
I encountered Vladimir Putin two years ago when I was in Jerusalem, representing the UK with Prince Charles at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, writes Newark MP Robert Jenrick.
All the heads of state and those of us lesser mortals, arrived and were duly seated in the vast auditorium. We waited. And waited.
One of the VIPs was late, we were told. Just as the organisers reluctantly started without him, there was the deafening sound of helicopters overhead and then, the waxwork-like figure of Mr Putin appeared from behind a curtain, surrounded by a group of minders 20 times that of our UK delegation.
Despite his lateness and absurd entourage — designed to impress, but achieving the opposite — he gave an interesting speech. He told the story of Red Army Field Marshal Konev, who led the military operation to capture the Silesian industrial region of Germany, who, having received a report about the atrocities committed at Auschwitz, forbade himself from even seeing this camp.
Later he wrote in his memoirs that he feared that if he had, his moral courage might have faltered and a fair sense of revenge blinded him during military operations and caused additional suffering and casualties among the civilian population of Germany. Putin went on: “We are all responsible for making sure the terrible tragedies of the war do not happen again.”
How hollow those words seem today as Putin, more clearly than before, joins the line of war criminals that includes Hitler, Mussolini and Milosevic. He went on to say, prophetically, that a “lack of unity in the face of threats can lead to terrible consequences.” He was right that tyrants must be opposed. As we’ve learnt time and again, although the price can be high, it will invariably only be higher tomorrow.
I’ve been immensely moved by the bravery of the Ukrainian people, from President Zelensky’s leadership to the public taking up arms in defence of their country and their freedoms. They deserve our fulsome support.
I’m pleased we are implementing robust sanctions and are supplying defensive weapons. I’ve been contributing to the debates on these topics in Parliament, using my experience as a lawyer, including a short stint in Russia itself in the early 2000’s. There is more we can and should do to weaken Putin and disrupt his ability to finish his aggression.
This terrible war is an awakening from our naivety and complacency, the holiday from history we’ve enjoyed since the end of the Cold War.
As I’ve long argued, we have to confront authoritarian regimes, Russia or Iran or China. The West had been weak, exemplified by the humiliating exit from Afghanistan.
We must regroup and stand for our values.
As Margaret Thatcher said, there are no final victories in human affairs — freedom must be defended by every generation if it is to survive.