The ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which proved to be cataclysmic for Kyiv triggering a humanitarian crisis, has proved to be an ameliorating moment for Europe. The conflict has seen innumerable sanctions from the West and a continuous verbal assault from the US, and European nations have derived the maximum out of it.
While Russian missile attacks go on in Kharkiv, one of the biggest victories is not in the east of Moscow, but 3,000 kilometres west, in London.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, scored a ‘symbolic win’ by making a surprise visit to Kyiv. In a heavily stage-managed air, Johnson became the most high-profile leader to have visited Ukraine since the war began and embedded his reputation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as his greatest ally. The visuals of Johnson walking with Zelenskyy on the streets of Kyiv caught global attention.
But back home, the UK Prime Minister is facing a series of fines for his lockdown breaches. A series of parties that started with May 2020 summer party and went on till Christmas have not gone well with the PM’s repute.
However, the crisis isn’t a wholly win-win situation for Johnson. The sanctions on Russia could hurt the prospects of his Conservative Party, which has been heavily funded by Russian oligarchs. Reports suggest contribution of 1.93 million pounds to either the Tories or their associations since Johnson became the Prime Minister in 2019.
In poll-bound France, there are two extremes. President Emmanuel Macron has called for an escalation of sanctions with ban on Russian oil and coal imports, while the rival is known for her covert sympathy for Russia.
On the other extreme is the far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, who is known for her past admiration for Putin and party loans from a Russian bank. When in 2017, Le Pen lost to Macron, Putin had hosted her in Kremlin, posing for a handshake.
In the ongoing elections, Le Pen is giving a tough fight to Macron. Though she has ‘broadly’ supported sanctions against Russia, she has added exceptions to the oil and gas supplies.
She even proposed closer links between the NATO and Russia, and called for pulling France out of the military organisation of the US-led alliance once the war is over.
“Nobody is against Europe,” she had said. “I would not stop paying France’s contribution to the EU, I want to diminish it.” In the French election run-off, if Le Pen wins, it will be a Frexit, the French version of Brexit.
Despite the ups and down of European politics, there is always a room for unified response. The continent, which has already witnessed two big wars within three decades, cannot let another one escalate from Russia’s antiquated idea of nationalism.
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