LONDON — A failure to stand up to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “will remake the world as we know it,” the foreign ministers of Britain and Poland warned Saturday, as they urged deadlocked U.S. lawmakers to keep the funding flowing.
In a joint piece for POLITICO to mark two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, David Cameron and Radosław Sikorski argue it is “in the interest of America — and all of our allies” to provide more cash to Ukraine for its war effort.
And they urge Western leaders not to flunk “the biggest test of our generation.”
The joint plea comes as U.S. Republicans continue to hold out on a fresh funding agreement for the war-torn country, and as European capitals mull their options to constrain Moscow amid signs of fatigue two years on.
“This war is the biggest test of our generation,” the pair write. “A wholly unprovoked invasion. A blatant threat to our collective security. The clearest example of one country trying to extinguish the independence of another.
“Other adversaries are watching how we respond. Will we stand with Ukraine? Will we stand up to Putin’s naked aggression? The consequences of failure will not just be felt in Ukraine — they will remake the world as we know it.”
Cameron, a former British prime minister-turned-foreign-secretary, got short shrift earlier this month when he traveled to Washington to try to drum up support for Ukraine. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an ally of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, told the U.K.’s top diplomat to “kiss my ass.”
But Cameron and Sikorski, who serves as foreign affairs point-man in Donald Tusk’s administration, quote 1996 American comedy film Jerry Maguire as they urge the U.S. and allies to “show me the money.”
“Britain and the EU have committed more funding to Ukraine, and we believe it is in the interest of America — and all of our allies — to do the same,” they write.
The two foreign ministers also call on allies to “scour our stocks” for equipment that can be “quickly” sent to Ukraine, and talk up training on “game-changing systems like F-16 fighters.”
They also push the idea of using Russian assets seized in the wake of the invasion to help rebuild Ukraine, a proposal that has met resistance in some European capitals.
“Morally, a down payment on future reparations is justified,” they argue. “Economically, their fiscal firepower could turn the tide of the war. We will explore all options. But we and our allies must act quickly to use them.”