It’s now two weeks since Russian tanks rolled over the border into Ukrainian territory and the images we will all have seen on the news or social media have been truly disturbing. Much like last week the focus in Parliament has been to do all we can to help, and doing this whilst also dealing with the day-to-day issues faced by residents requires a bit of juggling on my part but it is the right thing to do.
On Wednesday the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, made history as he became the first leader of a foreign nation to address the House of Commons in the Chamber. The words he used, and how he used them, were powerful and inspiring. He was a leader fighting for the very survival of his nation. Being sat in the Chamber at that point felt historic, humbling, and emotional; and it is a moment that will stay with me forever.
In his speech he touched on all the ways the UK was supporting Ukraine, whilst also asking us to go further. It was clear that the relationship he has struck with our Prime Minister means a lot to him; and it is this closeness that has allowed us to lead the charge on sanctions, military aid, and humanitarian assistance.
With every day that goes by the list of those on the sanctions list increases, bringing further pain to the Russian economy. It now includes not only Putin himself and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but also oligarchs like Roman Abromovich. And thanks to the global power of the City of London the sanctions imposed here have been able to target Russian banking assets of more than £258 billion – compared to £240 billion in the USA and £38 billion in the EU. And that also means collectively, and without adding in countries like Japan and Singapore which have also joined us, Russian banking assets of more than half a trillion pounds have been sanctioned.
Military support has also been increased, reflecting the change in Russian tactics. During his address to Parliament on Tuesday President Zelensky asked for help from the UK on protecting the skies over Ukraine and the next day the Defence Secretary announced that we would be meeting this request. The UK is now looking to provide the one of the world’s most advanced air-defence missile system – StarStreak - which is man-portable and fires missiles that travels at three-times the speed of sound. This will be a game changer for the Ukrainians looking to protect their skies and comes alongside more than 3,000 anti-tank weapons already delivered, and more that are on the way.
On Monday we also passed the Economic Crime Bill in the Commons. This was done in record time of just one day, and its impact will be huge. Our law enforcement agencies will have a greater ability to use Unexplained Wealth Orders so they can target those in the UK who have huge wealth from illicit means; a Register of Overseas Entities will be established to identify who really owns property in the UK with shell companies opened up; and it gives Ministers the ability to impose sanctions immediately, rather than giving 28 days as was allowed under previous laws.
I know, however, that there has been much concern about the humanitarian response – both in terms of the aide getting to Ukraine and the support being provided by the UK to those fleeing. On the first of these we can be proud that the UK is now the largest bilateral donor of aide to Ukraine with the Government sending hundreds of millions of pounds on top of the enormous generosity shown by residents in donating items and money.
On the second, refugee support, the pace of action does need to increase. The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK told a Committee this week that most fleeing would want to stay in Eastern Europe, where the language barriers are less and they are close to home when circumstances allow. But that means for those who do want to come to the UK we need to make it as simple as we can. The Home Secretary is working across Government to create a more streamlined process and whilst we are now well into the thousands of those who have come to the UK, I will keep residents updated on progress. This will also include a sponsorship route allowing communities here at home to play their part if they want to. Please keep an eye on my social media and this column for more information on this.
Finally, I want to touch on the ban announced this week on imports of Russian oil and gas. We are fortunate here that little of our oil and gas comes from Russia but the ban remains important because we know that the revenue from any sales contribute directly to the war machine assembled by President Putin.
I have spoken to Ministers directly about the impact of sanctions on global prices and how we shield residents from this as best we can. This is something I know all of Government is working on. That includes working with allies in the Gulf and USA to find new supplies, the Treasury looking at what support they can provide and Ministers here looking at how we can spur on investment in our own oil and gas fields – on and off-shore, as well as new fuels like hydrogen.
This mix of short-term action and medium term action is what will allow us to permanently pivot away from autocratic regimes supplying our energy needs to a more secure supply. Regardless of what has happened under previous governments, which have been too concerned with gesturing away from oil and gas, my focus is to deal with the here and now and work to rectify the thinking which has led us to this position.
Slava Ukrayini
