Britain | Bagehot

How Britons became happy hawks on Russia

They simply love to poke the bear

Illustration of Kier Starmer as Britannia slaying a bear with his trident
Illustration: Nate Kitch

Few things cheer Britons more than the thought of Russian troops being turned to dust with the aid of British ingenuity. At the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Boris Johnson toured the Belfast factory that churned out nlaws, the toddler-size rocket launchers that can whizz a 1.8kg warhead towards a Russian tank at 200 metres per second. It was no coincidence that one of Sir Keir Starmer’s first foreign-policy moves as prime minister was to wonder whether Ukraine should be allowed to fire “Storm Shadow” missiles 250km into Russia.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Happy hawks ”

From the February 22nd 2025 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron

Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are forging a tight link

As Donald Trump threatens to leave Europe on its own

An illustration depicting a politician, represented by a person wearing a suit, red tie, and a red rosette, laying bricks as if constructing a wall.

Britain’s government may be about to waste its best chance of success 

A bill to unblock house building and boost growth looks far too timid 



Paying teenagers to go to school was a bad idea

At least in Britain

Britain’s capital markets are waging a war on paper

Calls are growing to modernise the country’s shareholding system