Rares Cocilnau“War is a continuation of politics by other means,” Carl Von Clausewitz
It is with grave concern that we must analyse the latest chapter in the West’s increasingly reckless flaming of the fires of war. The decision by Britain to allow Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles to strike deep into the territory of the Russian Federation comes after US-President Joe Biden gave the green light for ATACMS long-range missiles to be used by Ukraine. Until now, long-range missiles have been limited to Russian targets operating inside Ukraine and Crimea.
The deployment of these long-range missile systems fundamentally shifts the parameters of the conflict, exposing the warmongering ambitions of the West. With the capacity to strike civilian infrastructure deep into Russian land, these weapons erase the distinction between defensive and offensive warfare. NATO’s ambitions are thus exposed for what they are: a campaign not of defence, but of calculated, imperialist aggression designed to entrench and expand the conflict rather than resolve it. Britain has been the prime mover of this conflict.
A month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there emerged a fleeting yet genuine opportunity to end the war through multilateral negotiation and diplomacy. Direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, held with Turkish and Israeli mediation, culminated in the drafting of the ‘Istanbul Communique’ in March 2022. Within this framework, President Zelensky made a significant pledge to Russia: that Ukraine would adopt a position of neutrality, foregoing NATO membership and refusing to host foreign military bases on its soil. Consequently, President Putin indicated his willingness to withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine, contingent upon guarantees that the ethnic Russian-speaking regions of the Donbas would be preserved.
David Arahamiya, the leader of Ukraine’s ruling party, confirmed the seriousness of these negotiations, stating that Russia was “ready to end the war” provided Ukraine “took neutrality” and abandoned its NATO aspirations.1 Putin announced on June 13, 2022 that the two countries had reached an “agreement in Istanbul” – initiated and mutually acknowledged by both sides. Further corroboration came from former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who observed that Ukraine was prepared to “give up NATO membership,” 2 recognising this as a salient concern for Moscow. Even Zelensky acknowledged as much: “Security guarantees and neutrality, the nuclear free status of our state. We are ready to agree to it. This is the most important point. This was first fundamental point for the Russian Federation, as far as I remember. And as far as I remember, they started a war because of this.”3
According to one study, Russia and Ukraine came remarkably close to a deal that would have ended the war and guaranteed Ukraine permanent neutrality. However, Former Israeli Naftali Bennet remarked that “both sides were very interested in a ceasefire… and both sides were prepared to make considerable concessions… But Britain and the US, in particular, wanted this peace process to end and set their sights on a continuation of the war.”4 His assessment was echoed by the Turkish foreign minister, who stated that “there are those within NATO member states that want to the war to continue” and want “Russia to become weaker.”5 The opposition to peace talks was made explicit at NATO’s 2022 Brussels summit, where efforts at negotiation were sidelined. Schroder reflected on this dynamic, stating that “nothing could happen because everything else was decided in Washington.”6 Against this backdrop, a clandestine effort emerged in the form of Project Alchemy – a cabal of British military and intelligence veterans which plotted to escalate and prolong the Ukraine proxy war “at all costs.”7
Formed under the auspices of the British Ministry of Defence in the immediate wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the cell devised an array of plans to “keep Ukraine fighting” by imposing “strategic dilemmas, costs and frictions upon Russia.”8 Members of the national security cabal tacitly acknowledged that their proposed operations stretched the bounds of British law, proposing that London ought to “prepare to creatively use the law” to meet their goals, and even be willing to erase “legal restrictions on UK deniable ops” against Russia. To accomplish the balkanisation of Russia, Project Alchemy took inspiration from Operation Gladio, a similar CIA and NATO-orchestrated covert operation that saw fascist paramilitaries carry out false-flag terrorist attacks across Western Europe, in particular Italy, after WW2 to prevent the spread of Communism. According to The Grayzone, leaked documents stressed the “need to intervene in every way except official;” explicitly recommending to “stay-behind Gladio handbooks/Partisan Pamphlets” which were“updated for the Information Age.”9
This explains why, as peace talks neared potential resolution, then UK prime minister Boris Johnson advised Kyiv that “Putin is a war criminal” who must “be pressured, not negotiated with” and “even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements… they [the West] are not.”10 Before his visit, Johnson “instructed” Zelensky to not make any “concessions” to Putin.11 As a result, any hopes of a deal broke down as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were torpedoed by Britain. In the autumn of 2022, Moscow signalled their readiness for negotiation, yet these overtures were met with silence, as Zelensky vowed to fight on. In late 2023 and early 2024, Moscow once again pushed for a ceasefire to freeze the war, hosting confidential talks in Turkey that were ultimately rejected by the US. In May of this year, Reuters reported that Moscow was “ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines.”12 Nevertheless, the US and UK have long publicly rejected talks on anything other than Russia’s complete withdrawal from Ukraine, disregarding the causes of the war to begin with.
This staunch rejection of peace cannot be disentangled from the UK’s vested interest in perpetuating the conflict, as the war has proven to be an unparalleled boon for the British arms industry, with defence contractors reaping record profits from the steady flow of weaponry into Ukraine. Courting Ukraine as a new ally has major benefits for the UK arms industry, whose influence over Whitehall’s foreign policy is both immense and undeniable. For UK arms corporations, Ukraine represents a burgeoning market ripe for exploitation, with unprecedented profits flowing from the unending supply of weaponry. The trade figures are instructive: 10 years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, British arms companies sold only £35 million in military equipment to Kyiv. According to Declassified UK, that figure skyrocketed since February 2022 to over £800 million.
The windfall for Britain’s largest arms exporter, BAE systems, exemplifies this war-driven boom. Fuelled by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, BAE systems has experienced a surge in sales over the past three years and has amassed its largest ever backlog. The Labour government, far from challenging this imperialist bloodlust, has actively reinforced it. In collaboration with Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting in London with representatives from major arms firms, including BAE systems, Thales, MBDA and Babcock, consolidating the intertwinement between the arms industry and state policy.
This alignment culminated in August with the signing of a treaty granting Ukraine access to £3.5 billion in UK export finance, explicitly earmarked for the procurement of British military equipment. Ergo, Keir Starmer announced a commitment of £3 billion annually in military aid for Ukraine “as long as needed”, underscoring the extent to which Ukraine has been stripped of its sovereignty and transformed into a proxy for the interests of the financial oligarchy in Washington and the City of London.
The tragic tale of Ukraine’s war, once framed as a struggle for sovereignty and self-determination, now stands exposed as a grotesque theatre of imperial ambition and vassalage. Britain, draped in the rhetoric of liberty and human rights, has revealed itself as one of the principal architects of this needless bloodshed, sacrificing peace on the altar of American interests. The orchestrators of this calamity have shown an unflinching willingness to prolong this war, not for lofty ideals they so loudly proclaim, but for the cynical pursuit of securing America’s dominance in Europe and undermining an incipient Russia. Britain’s decision to allow Storm Shadow missiles to strike territory deep in the heart of Russia illustrates the hubris of the West; a tacit proclamation that NATO will not stop until nuclear war begins. As Karl Marx wrote in the first volume of Capital, “capital comes dripping from head to foot from every pore, with blood and dirt.” Indeed, the Rubicon has been crossed. With the deployment of British Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russian territory, Britain has, in effect, entered into a de facto state of war with Russia.
1 Official: Johnson Forced Kyiv To Refuse Russian Peace Deal ━ The European Conservative
2 Putin’s Draft Treaty Between Russia and Ukraine Did Exist – Antiwar.com
3 The Biden Administration Has No Definition of Victory in Ukraine | Cato Institute
4, 10 ‘Let’s just fight’: How Britain prefers war over peace in Ukraine
5 ‘Some NATO allies want longer war for weaker Russia’: FM Çavuşoğlu | Daily Sabah
6 According to Ukrainian Officials, There Could Have Been Peace – The American Conservative
7, 8, 9 Leaks expose secret British military cell plotting to ‘keep Ukraine fighting’ – The Grayzone
12 Exclusive: Putin’s suggestion of Ukraine ceasefire rejected by United States, sources say | Reuters
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