James Forsyth James Forsyth

A new Europe is emerging from this crisis

With every hour that Kiev holds out, the geopolitics of Europe changes more. Germany, which so values its prohibition on sending weapons into warzones, has just announced that it is sending 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to support the Ukrainian forces.

I expect that defence spending will rise considerably in the coming years

Germany is also allowing other Nato members to export arms with German-made parts to Ukraine — which will make a material difference to the supplies that the Ukrainian government receives. Yesterday evening, it was announced that Russian banks are going to be cut off from Swift. The EU seems to have realised how unsustainable their position was when contrasted with the bravery of the Ukrainians, exemplified by President Zelensky’s refusal to be evacuated.

As Fraser Nelson said in the Telegraph on Friday, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a 9/11 moment for Europe; forcing countries to face up to the continent as it is rather than how they want it to be.

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