According to a major new report, Ukraine would have fallen to Russia if Britain had not used its newfound freedom outside the EU to lead the West in confronting Vladimir Putin’s brutal aggression.
The study criticises Brussels’ “weak” response at the start of the war and urges the West to step up its efforts to repel the Russian invasion.
It contends that associations of independent sovereign states, such as NATO, are far better equipped than slow-moving bodies like the EU to deal with tyrants like Putin.
The Centre for Brexit Policy report identifies the UK’s leadership of the West’s increasingly robust response to the Russian despot as one of the most significant benefits of Brexit.
It claims that in the nine months leading up to the invasion, the UK spent more on military assistance to Kyiv (£3.7 billion) than all EU institutions combined (£2.8 billion).
The report, Putin’s War at the End of the Year, singles out former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for their quick action.
“Ukraine was saved from defeat by Day Six {of the war} by two men and one country, who were equally but differently indispensable,” he writes.