There were two further requests for acts of international solidarity that we heard from our Ukrainian friends. One of immediate practical help, and one of huge symbolic significance. The practical help that they called for was the immediate cancellation of Ukraine's foreign debt. Even as we speak, in the midst of war, the Ukrainian Government is having to provide servicing of its foreign debt up to $0.5 billion a month—money that it clearly doesn't have.

The symbolic call following President Zelenskyy's signing of the application for EU membership by Ukraine yesterday is for the European Union to signal that they are committed to Ukraine's membership of the European Union, and they will fast-track it. What better way to symbolise the fact that Ukraine is a democratic country, and that the values that are at the heart of the European Union require a positive response to Ukraine's request for membership yesterday?