The smoke rising over Kyiv’s golden domes is more than a tragedy. It is a symbol. A historic cathedral, centuries of faith and culture, now a pyre for 11 souls.
Russia’s latest strike is not mere tactics. It is a deliberate assault on the idea of Ukraine itself. And what does Britain do?
Condemn. Issue statements. Wring its hands like a Victorian vicar witnessing a public indecency.
The language of ‘terror’ is used, yes. But what does that word mean when the perpetrator sits in the Kremlin, unblinking, while our leaders debate the proper calibration of sanctions? We have seen this before.
The fall of Constantinople. The burning of the Library of Alexandria. Each time, the civilised world watches, aghast, and does just enough to feel righteous, not enough to win.
This is intellectual decadence. A preference for gestures over power. The fire in Kyiv is a mirror.
Look into it. What do you see? A nation burning, or an empire of men who have forgotten how to fight?
