Ukraine Dispatch 25 | Day 167 of the War in Ukraine ~ Leadership For the West ~ The International Churchill Society
Ukraine Dispatches
Volume 1
This Ukraine Dispatch ran last year, 9 August 2022.
Yesterday, Presidednt Zelensky ended his whistlestop tour of European Capitals with a visit to Chequers, the British prime minister’s offical residence (for prime ministers only during office).
Much has been secured. We cannot supply fighter jets, we do not have F16s. But we are second to none in training pilots and that is just one part of an extensive package of support for Ukraine, including cruise missiles, drones and tanks.
A line caught my eye this evening as I paid for fuel.
UK backs Ukraine to join NATO
I bought the newspaper, and the front page carries five points that, in a way, quietly reflects the resolve of the British People in these islands. I quote them as follows:
The sooner that Ukraine is admitted to full membership of both the European Union and the North Atlantic treay Organisation, the better will it be for all countries who are determined to resist autocracy, dictatorship and populism. Note well, populism is simply the mist that disguises that which it guards and foments with vigour ~ Fascism.
The Original Ukraine Dispatch
9 August 2022
I have long drawn similarities between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sir Winston Churchill. Two wartime leaders each of their countries when they not only stood alone but were, and are in the case of Ukraine, under fierce bombardment and invasion.
As a member of the International Churchill Society, I was moved to read this account.
Visitors will also be aware that whilst I am not at one with the Right Honourable Mr. Boris Johnson, Privy Counsellor and currently this country’s outgoing prime minister, nevertheless, Mr. Johnson is a Classicist and an authority on the life of Winston Churchill. I recognize, too, his leadership and support for the Sovereign Nation and People of Ukraine.
It is for this reason that I append this article. It speaks for itself. It affirms what millions around the world know to be true, many with a sense of relief, others with a sense of dread. Well, those who dread have, alas, brought upon their own heads and those of their benighted peoples, that dread sense of foreboding.
As in 1940, in 2022 the Great Democracies are again under threat. Not only from without but from within.
I do not have time for people who argue that their way is better, that people prefer to be ruled and to be kept within strict guidelines. In them, I see something else entirely. It is as old as humankind itself.
I want what you’ve got.
I like what you’ve got.
I see no reason why you should have it.
I’m simply going to take it for myself.
Moreover, I will seek, kill and destroy
to get it.
Whether it is oil, gas, grain, micro, and silicon chips … this is what motivates a certain kind of individual. They are mystified by the inbuilt rule of law within the liberal democracies. The article within this Link is vital to read and understand, to take on board.
Leadership For the West, Hero of Our Time by Andrew Roberts, International Churchill Society
16 May 2023
All Rights Reserved
© 2023 Kenneth Thomas Webb
First Written on Day 167, 9 August 2022
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.