I've just been barred from entering Russia. Farage's ban must have got lost in the post

As Donald Trump attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again on social media, it’s never been more important to stand by Ukraine and against Putin’s Russia

In a way I should be grateful to Vladimir Putin. Until Wednesday afternoon, I was not entirely sure what to write about in this week’s column. The news that I had been banned from visiting Russia – for the high crime of “outright rudeness”, no less – made the decision pretty easy.

Whether or not Russia’s decision to sanction myself and 14 other MPs this week was intended to spook us into silence, it has had the opposite effect. My determination to oppose and expose the brutality of Putin and his government is as strong now as ever.

In truth, the news that I have been barred from visiting Russia did come as a something of a shock – largely because I had assumed I was already banned some years ago. When people in the Northern Isles were rallying together to block Russian tankers from our ports in March 2022, following Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I was already pretty sure that I was not going to Moscow any time soon.

Vladimir Putin's regime has banned Alistair Carmichael MP from entering Russia (Picture: Alexey Danichev/pool) | POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Farage’s craven stance on Ukraine

Whether it was in protests, in opening our homes to Ukrainian refugees, or simply by calling for further action against Russia and supporting Ukraine, we were not shy in the isles in making our voices heard from the start.

Given the timing, I am instead tempted to think that this travel ban has happened now because of a joke I made at Nigel Farage’s expense in the House of Commons last month, mocking his craven stance on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. I am sure that Farage’s own travel ban simply got lost in the post.

It is easy to joke about Putin’s tantrums – and we should, because there is nothing that tinpot dictators hate more than mockery – but there is, of course, a serious side to all of this. My right to holiday in St Petersburg was theoretical, but the Russian bombs and missiles raining down on the people of Ukraine are all too real. That is where our support must continue to be focused.

United in the fight for democracy

We have the luxury of relative safety and security in the UK, in no small part due to the sacrifices being made by Ukrainians. That gives us the opportunity but also the obligation to continue to speak out against aggressive dictators like Putin.

There is no better answer to his threats than further support for Ukraine, and a resolute message that we are with them in their fight for democracy and freedom from invasion. It is a message that we need to send to both the Kremlin and the White House.

Shortly after the Russian travel ban on British MPs was announced, Donald Trump was again attacking President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media, this time for having the temerity to suggest that he would not recognise the legitimacy of Russian conquests in any peace deal. It begins to appear that no pro-Putin step is too far for this US administration.

It is up to us how we respond. Recent years have shown that the only way to beat bullies is to stand up to them – and that if we value our democracy and our freedoms then we must work to defend them.

In a roundabout way, we can be grateful to Putin for that lesson.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland