We must renew our support for the Ukrainian people at this moment of opportunity

Just as Boris Johnson heads off to the comfortable pasture of light essay writing, one of his more significant legacies has returned to the front of the political stage. It was under the former prime minister that the United Kingdom adopted a forward posture in support of the people in Ukraine in their struggle against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Morally, this was the right stance to take, although The Independent urged tact and caution in dealing with the leader of a regime with enough nuclear weapons to destroy humanity – especially as that leader seems increasingly under the sway of mystical beliefs in a greater Russia extending over all the territories of the former Soviet Union.

Rishi Sunak has wisely stood by our national commitment to the cause of Ukrainian self-determination, reinforced by a cross-party consensus in the House of Commons. He tends not to use such extravagant rhetoric as Mr Johnson, but that may be for the better.

Mr Sunak may be well placed to welcome, cautiously, the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group and the disarray of Putin’s forces. This looks like a huge opportunity for the Ukrainians to press their advantage and regain their land.

Nevertheless, the Ukrainians and their supporters around the world should not get too excited. No one can snuff out hope like Putin. And we should heed the warnings that, if Putin falls, he might be replaced by someone worse. We should remember that Mr Prigozhin’s complaint is that the war of conquest in Ukraine is being prosecuted badly: in essence, his offer to the Russian people is to win the war.

This is a moment for the highest quality of diplomacy: the leaders of the democratic world need to watch; they need to be wary; but they need to be decisive in handling a Russian polity that is in danger of disintegrating.

It was unfortunate, therefore, that James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, had to go out of his way to quash a rumour that he intends to leave parliament at the next election. We need a foreign secretary who is ready to step up, not step down.

Mr Cleverly was dubbed “the survivor” a few days ago because he was appointed by Liz Truss and remains in post a full nine months later, but he is considered to have made a good impression in his short time in the role. Now, though, he and Mr Sunak will be truly tested.

At a time when the United States is led by a president whose instincts are right but whose powers of oratory are failing, the Ukrainians and their allies need leaders with presence on the world stage – a stage that is suddenly shifting and changing – to shape the opportunity for peace and navigate away from catastrophe.

We should be proud that Britain led the way in supporting the Ukrainian people in their hour of need. Let Mr Sunak and Mr Cleverly step up to renew that leadership at this moment of opportunity.