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Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.

WTF

Hard to overstate how serious this could be. Europe views this profoundly differently to position being espoused by Trump & Vance here. But yesterday it was all so different & tomorrow may be different again. So whilst acknowledging magnitude of what just happened, let it soak.

Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you President Donald J. Trump, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.

I don’t know where Starmer is right now but he needs to get back to Washington. This really is a moment for the British Prime Minister to do what PMs have done so many times before & bridge between Europe & US. And tonight that may well mean mediating between Trump & Zelensky.

Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the agressor. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.

All across Europe, presidents and PMs are publicly expressing their supporting Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський. Literally dozens of them. They do this not in response to another outrage from Putin but the President of United States. This is a remarkable moment.

Very sensible & non-partisan piece on Defence spending, Euro security & scaling defence industry from ⁦Kemi Badenoch⁩. Acknowledgement that 3% on Defence brings tough choices is important. Even more so, is her offer to support Govt as they make them. telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/0…

We must not wait a minute longer to use Russia's frozen billions to aid Ukraine's fight, argues BILL BROWDER | Daily Mail Online dailymail.co.uk/debate/article…

One other thing. The idea we can only increase defence spending to 2.5%, with some vague 3% aspiration is for the birds. We now need a major programme of rearmament. And it needs to start immediately because Putin will calculate his maximum window of opportunity is aligned with

Serving with 🇺🇸 & 🇫🇷 were defining moments of my military career. Visiting 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇫🇷 joint ops around world - highlights of ministerial career. Being in room as ‘P3’ response to threats of recent years was considered, the most sobering. Sad to hear the relationship reduced to this.

NATO Article 5 has been invoked once - on 12/9/01 by 🇺🇸, after 9/11. 🇬🇧 &🇫🇷 came to their aid deploying 1,000s of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother & numerous parliamentary colleagues, past & present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service & sacrifice.

As ever, Shashank Joshi calls it right. It leads to an unbelievable choice for Macron & Starmer. Maintain transatlantic alliance or stand up to Putin & secure European continent. Those aims have always seemed inseparable. Yet as each week passes, they feel more mutually exclusive. Grim,

Sobering point made at CEPS ThinkTank #IdeasLab session on Ukraine. Suggested US might ban allies frm providing any weapon systems covered by ITAR. Lots of ITAR-free innovation over last few years but interesting to know from procurement experts how serious such a ban could be?

These are important announcements from Ursula von der Leyen but they depend on member states taking opportunity & with necessary urgency. Increased deficits & EU loans are not free money - still leave difficult political choices. UK’s 2.5% announcement already seems too small. 3% now?

There are only a few countries who’ve thus far committed troops to force in Ukraine. If he didn’t mean UK or France, he perhaps meant Estonia or Denmark instead? I fought alongside both in Iraq & Afghanistan they’re proper warriors too. Which ever way you cut it, VP is wrong.

Being in opposition when Govt is right is hard. Getting airtime mostly requires disagreement! I admired how Keir Starmer & John Healey were so constructive in private briefings & from oppo benches when we were setting pace on Ukraine. There’s honour in doing same in return.

Some images just in from the King’s visit today on board HMS Prince of Wales - which is at sea ahead of its deployment next month. 📷 Royal Navy

🇬🇧🇬🇧

This really will be very interesting especially from Dame Karen Pierce (providing she’s free of Govt restrictions). She & her team had excellent connections into the Trump team and will have better insight than anyone on how the special relationship is now valued in DC. Fascinating.