Thread by @antoguerrera

Great, powerful, inspiring speech by Boris Johnson in Munich on #Russia and #Ukraine. Very wise, tough words in defense of a free Europe.

#MSC2022

Johnson: "We must be united against Russia threat because we should be in no doubt what is at stake here.

If Ukraine is invaded and overwhelmed, we'll witness the destruction of a democratic state, a country that has been free for a generation, with a proud history of elections"

.@BorisJohnson: "And every time that Western ministers have visited Kyiv, we’ve assured the people of Ukraine and their leaders that we stand four-square behind their sovereignty and independence.

How hollow, how meaningless, how insulting those words would seem if..."

"..., at the very moment when their sovereignty and independence is imperiled, we simply look away.

If Ukraine is invaded the shock will echo around the world and those echoes will be heard in East Asia and they will be heard in Taiwan." - @BorisJohnson

Johnson: "The risk now is that people will draw the conclusion that aggression pays.

So we should not underestimate the gravity of this moment and what is at stake.

We do not fully know what Putin intends but the omens are grim and that is why we must stand strong together."

Johnson: "The UK has worked with the European Union and the United States to put together the toughest and strongest package of sanctions, and I spoke recently to President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the measures prepared by the EU, in the closest coordination with our own."

Boris Johnson: "And if #Russia invades its neighbour, we will sanction Russian individuals and companies of strategic importance to the Russian state; and we will make it impossible for them to raise finance on the London capital markets, and..."

"...we will open up the matryoshka dolls of Russian-owned companies and Russian-owned entities to find the ultimate beneficiaries within.

And if President Putin believes that by these actions he can drive NATO back or intimidate NATO, he will find that the opposite is the case."

Johnson: "I’m proud to say that since #Russia invaded #Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, we have been helping Ukraine, training 22,000 troops and, in recent months, we have been among the nations to send defensive weaponry in the form of 2,000 anti-tank missiles."

Boris Johnson: "Britain will always stand up for freedom and democracy around the world, and when we say that our commitment to European security is immovable and unconditional, our deeds show that we mean our words."

Johnson: "We are making the biggest contribution to NATO of any European ally because we understand the importance of collective security, and just as our European friends stood by us after the Russian state used a chemical weapon in Salisbury, so Britain will stand by you." 🇬🇧🇪🇺

Johnson: "Even these measures by the UK and our allies - draconian sanctions, rinsing out dirty money, intensification of NATO’s defences, fortifying our Ukrainian friends - may not be enough to deter Russian aggression.

It is therefore vital that we learn the lessons of 2014"

Johnson: "Whatever happens in the next few days and weeks, we cannot allow European countries to be blackmailed by Russia, we cannot allow the threat of Russian aggression to change the security architecture of Europe, we cannot permit a new Yalta or a new division..."

"... of our continent into spheres of influence.

We must now wean ourselves off dependence on Putin’s oil and gas.

I understand the costs and complexities of this effort and the fact this is easier said than done."

Johnson: "So I am grateful for Chancellor Scholz’s assurances about Nord Stream 2. But the lessons of the last few years, and of Gazprom’s obvious manipulation of European gas supply, cannot be ignored."

Johnson: "We must ensure that by making full use of alternative suppliers and technology, we make Russia’s threats redundant. That will be the work of the months and years to come, as well as the necessary steps that we in the UK must take to protect our own financial system."

Johnson: "Now we need to prepare ourselves for the Russian playbook of deception that governs every operation of this kind.

There will be a cascade of false claims about Ukraine, intended to spread confusion almost for its own sake,
and even now there are plans..."

"... being laid for staged events, spinning a web of falsehoods designed to present any Russian attack as a response to provocation.

Fake military withdrawal, staged incidents that could provide a pretext for military action.

We’ve seen it before – and no-one should be fooled"

Johnson: "What Europe needs is strategic endurance, and we should focus our energies on preserving our unity and on deepening trans-Atlantic cooperation.

But for that to work, we must also be prepared to devote the necessary resources to carry a greater share of..."

"...the burden of preserving our continent’s security, and to demonstrate that we are in it for the long haul.

For now, we should continue to do everything we can to pursue the path of peace and dialogue.

There is a way forward, if President Putin is minded to take it". 🇬🇧🇪🇺🇷🇺

Johnson: "Kremlin’s chronic but misguided view of NATO is as a supposedly encircling and intimidating alliance.

This is not NATO’s function: #NATO is a peaceful and defensive alliance and we are willing to work with Putin to demonstrate that point and to give him reassurances."

This is very important. 👇

Johnson: "We could point out that until he invaded Ukraine for the first time in 2014, NATO did not permanently station any troops anywhere east of Germany..." 🇬🇧🇪🇺

"...and it was as recently as 2017 that the US, the UK, and other NATO allies established the “enhanced forward presence” to protect Poland and the Baltic states.

Even then, the total deployment of fewer than 5,000 troops posed no conceivable threat to Russia."

Johnson: "Until 2014, European allies were cutting their defence budgets and shrinking their armed forces, perhaps faster than was safe or wise.

And to the extent that this has changed it is because of the actions of President Putin and the tension he has created." 🇬🇧🇪🇺🇷🇺🇺🇦

Johnson: "If dialogue fails and if #Russia chooses to use violence against an innocent and peaceful population in Ukraine, and to disregard the UN Charter, then we should be in no doubt that it is in our collective interest that Russia should ultimately fail and be seen to fail."

.@BorisJohnson: "I believe that in preparing to invade #Ukraine, a proud country whose armed forces now exceed 200,000 personnel, considerably more expert in combat today than in 2014, President Putin and his circle are gravely miscalculation." 🇷🇺🇺🇦

Johnson: "I fear that a lightning war would be followed by a long & hideous period of reprisals & revenge and insurgency. Russian parents would mourn the loss of young Russian soldiers,who in their way are every bit as innocent as the Ukrainians now bracing themselves for attack"

Johnson: "And if Ukraine is overrun by brute force, I fail to see how a country - the biggest nation in Europe apart from Russia itself - could then be held down and subjugated forever.

After a generation of freedom, we’re now staring at a generation of bloodshed and misery."

Johnson: "I believe that Russia would have absolutely nothing to gain from this catastrophic venture and everything to lose, and while there is still time, I urge the Kremlin to de-escalate, to disengage its forces from the frontier and to renew our dialogue." 🇬🇧🇷🇺🇺🇦

Johnson: "Every nation at this conference shares a vision of a secure and prosperous Europe of sovereign states, deciding their own destiny and living without fear or threat".
#MSC2022

Johnson: "Russia has as much right as any other country to live in peace and security, and we should never cease to emphasise that Russia has nothing to fear from our vision, which threatens and marginalises no-one."
#MSC2022 🇬🇧🇷🇺🇺🇦

Johnson: “As we come together in unity and resolve, we must also show wisdom and moderation, because it is precisely by that unity that we show today that we have the best chance even now, at this 11th hour, of averting disaster and ensuring that good sense can still prevail.”

Johnson: “And it is that message of unity that we must send from this conference today. Thank you”.

ENDS 🇷🇺🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸🇪🇺

#MSC2022

.@Keir_Starmer responds to PM @BorisJohnson’s speech to the #MSC2022

“We support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Labour supports the actions the UK government is taking with the aim of securing a peaceful end to this precarious stand-off”. 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦🇷🇺