As Nato leaders ponder how best to respond to Russia’s successful annexation of Crimea, they would do well to reflect on the pathetic sight of Ukrainian troops making an undignified retreat homewards in a motley collection of old military vehicles.
Defeat is always a bitter pill to swallow, and this must be particularly true for the beleaguered force of Ukrainian airmen, sailors and soldiers based in Crimea who found themselves utterly humiliated when Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, saw an opportunity to seize the territory.
Given the political turmoil that is currently afflicting Kiev, it was probably asking a lot for the interim Ukrainian government to offer any effective leadership or guidance. But the same excuse does not apply to Nato leaders, who until only recently were actively encouraging Kiev to forge a closer relationship with the transatlantic alliance.
Having signed the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, whereby the Western powers – and Russia – committed themselves to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Nato established a number of projects designed to forge closer ties, with the aim of enhancing the Ukrainian military’s defensive capabilities in the event of attack. (As I write, the official Nato website still has an entire page devoted to its various spheres of military cooperation with Ukraine.)
Ukrainian soldiers muster at the Belbek air force base. Their retreat from Ukraine was seen by some as a humiliation Photo: EPA
