So Ukraine has been accused of striking Crimea. Shock. Horror. The usual chorus of diplomatic tut-tutting has begun, with Russia rattling its sabre and the West shuffling its feet. But let us be honest with ourselves. This is not a moment of moral clarity; it is yet another page in the long, sordid history of great powers playing games with other people's lands. The UK has reaffirmed its support for Kyiv's self-defence, as though we have any right to lecture anyone on the sanctity of borders. Britain, the nation that once drew lines across every continent, now solemnly upholds the rule of law. How quaint.
We must not forget the context. Crimea was annexed in 2014, a crude land-grab that violated every principle the West claims to champion. But let us also recall the referendum, widely condemned as a sham, that supposedly justified the act. The smell of hypocrisy is thick. When the West invades, it is liberation or humanitarian intervention. When Russia does it, it is aggression. When Ukraine strikes back, it is escalation. The language of empire has changed its costume but not its substance.
And what of our own glorious past? The British Empire was built on such accusations, such moralising. We bombed civilians in Dresden, we partitioned India, we held Kenya under martial law. Today we pose as the arbiters of civilised warfare, dispatching arms to Kyiv with one hand while wringing the other over 'escalation'. It would be laughable if it were not so lethal.
The real tragedy is that this endless cycle of violence and recrimination will yield nothing but more bloodshed. Neither side is interested in peace; they are interested in victory. And we, the onlookers, are too steeped in our own historical guilt to offer anything but platitudes. The fall of Rome was not accomplished in a single battle. It was a slow decay, a rot of principle and power. We are living in that rot now, pretending that our moral authority remains intact.
So let us dispense with the fairy tales. Ukraine will continue to fight. Russia will continue to threaten. Britain will continue to posture. And the rest of us will continue to wring our hands, knowing deep down that this is not a conflict between good and evil, but between two flawed empires and their proxies. Until we abandon the fantasy of righteous war, there will be no end to this. Only more history repeating itself.
