- Antony Higginbotham MP today spoke in the Urgent Question on the situation in Ukraine.
With fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine growing and world leaders calling on President Putin to lower tensions, Parliament today debated the UK response.
Speaking in Parliament Antony Higginbotham MP asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Vicky Ford MP about the measures we have in place to deal with potential cyber-attacks.
He said:
The focus on physical incursions into Ukraine by Russia shows that we’ve still a lot to learn about their way of operating.
So, could I ask the Minister to confirm that when we talk about defensive options that we might be able to provide to Ukraine to help them deter that threat, that we’re also looking at cyber security and information. Because that is where the Russians are operating right now.
Responding Vicky Ford said:
It’s very helpful to have the Minister for the armed forces sat right beside me. He can very clear that we’re considering responses in all domains.
The Minister also informed Parliament that the significant build-up of Russian military forces on the Ukrainian border was being closely monitored by the UK, NATO and other allies, and that any incursion by Russia would be met with significant strategic consequences.
Whilst firm measures were not elaborated on at the despatch box in the House of Commons, Western leaders spoke on Monday evening and formed a join strategy to "impose significant and severe harm on the Russian economy" should an invasion be launched.
Speaking after the debate Antony said:
Whilst the issue of Russian aggression may seem far away, we must stand up to the bully-boy tactics of Russia. Any escalation by them, including the potential to see land grabs on the European continent, would take us back to the dark days of the Cold War and all of the danger that brought.
We are absolutely right to seek to avoid any such conflict, and we must stand with all democratic countries against threats and aggression.
