Thank you
very much, thank you kindly for your welcome great to see you and
great to be here again in Tapa, this very important
mission.
NATO is
perhaps unique in the history of defence alliances because it has
stood for over 70 years, not for aggression but for peace and
stability.
During those
years the alliance has been tested many times – in the Cold War,
in the Balkans, in Afghanistan.
This matters
because the world has become a more dangerous and a more
contested place.
A few short
days ago we first stood witness to scenes we hoped we would never
see again on the continent of Europe.
A sovereign
democratic people fighting for their lives against a foe who
wishes to subjugate them by force.
As we
realised the terrible extent of President Putin’s
ambitions.
The world
has been rightly united in praise for the valour and bravery of
the Ukrainian people, led by President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy.
And I
expect, like colleagues here, I have had the privilege of
speaking to President Zelenskyy virtually every day since the
Russian invasion and have heard first-hand his sheer
determination that the freedom his people have experienced must
not be snatched away.
And, indeed,
it is clearer day by day from the way the Ukrainians are
responding, President Putin has made a disastrous
miscalculation.
His troops
have not been welcomed into Ukraine, as he prophesied, and
instead the Ukrainians have mounted an astonishing and tenacious
resistance.
We as the
international community have a responsibility to do everything we
can to help the Ukrainians in their efforts.
And that is
why the UK has trained 22,000 members of the Ukrainian Armed
Forces and why we have provided further defensive military
support to Ukraine.
And we
have a responsibility to all Ukrainians, that is why the UK has
provided £140 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and to the
region.
It’s why we
have deployed both humanitarian experts and hundreds of military
logistics experts to Ukraine’s neighbours to help them shelter
those seeking sanctuary on their shores.
And it’s why
we have announced the first phase of a bespoke humanitarian route
for the people of Ukraine to come to the UK.
It is also
why, alongside allies across the world, the UK has swiftly
executed the biggest package of sanctions ever imposed against a
G20 nation.
And we’ve
seen organisations from banks to oil companies, to football
leagues, to singing competitions make it clear that Putin and his
regime must be isolated from the international community for his
actions.
As we
support the people of Ukraine, we must also shore up our shared
resilience – both to protect our people and our
values.
These are
nothing more than defensive measures - which have been the
essence of the NATO for more than 70 years.
I want to be
crystal clear finally on that point. We will not fight Russian
forces in Ukraine, and our reinforcements - like these
reinforcements here in Tapa - are firmly within the borders of
NATO members and they are profoundly the right thing to
do.
