An excerpt:
If the European Union wants to survive it must be more than a union of “coal and steel.” Or only a union of bankers and traders. It must also be a project for the supporters and defenders of values. (The European Coal and Steel Community, a predecessor of the EU, was an international agency designed to integrate the coal and steel industries in western Europe after WW II — Ed.).
Great Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union is seen by many Ukrainian observers as a blow to our interests primarily because they view the situation from the perspective of Russian-European relations. Great Britain was one of the harshest critics of Russia and has consistently advocated for maintaining sanctions against the aggressor. With its departure, the position of the countries that defend European values will be shaken.
But I would not exaggerate the British role. In order to understand what Great Britain could realistically do for us it is worth asking what it has done already as one of the guarantors of the Budapest Memorandum. Tough rhetoric is, of course, valuable. But practical actions are even more valuable. And London has always been very careful when it came to practical actions.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, June 26. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.