STORY
The UK has accused Russia of launching a direct assault on Europe’s post-war security order, warning that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has undermined the principles designed to prevent another major conflict on the continent.
Ankur Narayan, the UK’s Charge d’Affaires and Politico-Military Counsellor at the OSCE, made the comments in Vienna on 7 May 2026, ahead of VE Day commemorations. He said remembrance of the Second World War was not “an exercise in nostalgia”, but a test of whether Europe had learned the lessons of the conflict.
The UK said the European security framework built after 1945 was based on sovereignty, territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for human rights. Narayan said Russia’s war against Ukraine had violated those principles and represented the deadliest conflict in Europe for generations.