Greetings,

It occurred to me on my afternoon constitutional, that something that could most definitely be happening is not.

Vladimir Putin, is directly responsible for the deaths of anywhere between 124, 500 and 131,000 Ukrainians. The UK government could enact a whole host of things to stop this. It could enforce sanctions that limit Russia's dealings with the Middle East, notably Saudi-Arabia. It could embargo any country with trade or import deals with Russia, ensuring the UN unilaterally supports those. And it could crack down on anything that allows for the import of oil to Russia; without its oil and gas, companies like Gazprom wouldn't have the influence over European markets it currently enjoys.

We have an option here. Allowing the continuation of Russian power is something that affects a large swathe of both Europe, and the world afar. Not only is it inhumane to sit by and watch an entire country be purged, but we set a precedent for the future; that it's ok to do this.  At the rate this war is going, there won't be a Ukraine in its current state. I feel that this would be an affront to anyone growing up in the free world, and that if we have the ability to stop these things from happening, then we ought to. The government has every legal and constitutional right to propose sanctions against another country, which is why the proposal I'm putting forward should be considered within the remit of legality, but, more importantly, within human rights as a whole.

Overall, I'd argue that we have as good a chance to prevent a Russian Autocracy - this is just a step in that direction, and that we could, if we wanted to start building a better world today.