Madame Chair, as we approach the third year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UK’s support will not falter. During his visit to Kyiv earlier this month, my Prime Minister announced a package of support and reaffirmed the close UK-Ukraine partnership. This included £2.5 billion in military support and a historic long-term security agreement. This brings the United Kingdom’s total package of support to Ukraine to approximately £12 billion.
- A large diversion of citizens to military duty would leave gaps in the workforce to be filled, be it guarding food warehouses or building trenches and bomb shelters.
- One person was killed and another injured in Russian drone strikes in Beryslav, said Oleksandr Prokudin, regional governor of Kherson oblast.
- Kyiv and its allies are worried that the supply of foreign weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian military is stalling, with Republicans in the US Congress choking the funds the Pentagon needs to fulfil its aims.
- While he said such an attack is unlikely now, "our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible".
The Prime Minister called Russia’s attack a “massive invasion”, and accused President Putin of having “attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuses”. Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country. We will continue to work with Ukraine and our international partners for a just and sustainable peace.
Why has Russia invaded?
For many Ukrainians, especially in the south and eastern regions of the country, Russian is the first language. Since 2001, the numerical influence of ethnic Russians in Ukraine diminished even further, as a result of the annexation of Crimea and the creation of the two separatist “republics” in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Significantly, even in the Donbas, where ethnic Russians form a substantial minority, they do not outnumber ethnic Ukrainians.
But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions. “These big cats are not only another victim of the Russian invasion but also suffered from human exploitation,” IFAW’s website quoted Natalia Popova of Wild Animal Rescue as saying after an earlier rescue. Charlotte von Croy, in charge of emergency rescues at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), a US non-profit organisation said there were probably around 10 big cats remaining in Ukraine, where keeping felines in private homes remains legal. And we look forward to Hungary living up to the commitment it’s made to the United States and to its other allies.
Engaging with government
Russia has denied plans for military action, but an estimated 100,000 troops have amassed on the border. It said Nato allies were sending additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe to reinforce defences and increase deterrence, in response to the continuing build-up of Russian forces. The ‘global’ in Britain was reflected in an ambition to more deeply engage in the Indo-Pacific, to adapt to China’s growing power and climate and global health objectives. Prior to Russia's invasion, the Foreign Office had seen a decline in its Russia expertise - despite the government having described the country as "the most acute threat to our security" in the Integrated Review. The muted response to Russia’s invasion of the Crimea in 2014 had already shown that, as a former UK ambassador to Moscow and Washington put it, “there was a problem in the Foreign Office; the old Cold War cadre of people just wasn’t there”. The Russian invasion displaced Ukrainians who, fleeing the conflict, became refugees in need of accommodation and support.
- However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine.
- Another potential threat could come from anti-war politicians, whom Kremlin propagandists might seek to incite.
- “I put forward the UK’s point of view on the current situation as well as seeking to deter Russia from an invasion of Ukraine,” she said.
- The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when.
- Russian military vehicles are reported to have breached Ukraine's border in a number of places, in the north, south and east, including from Belarus.
Joe Biden is pressing Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures with aid for Ukraine. Carlos Del Toro, the US navy secretary, has urged the UK to “reassess” the size of its armed forces given “the threats that exist today”. However, Russian forces have suffered heavy personnel and armoured vehicle losses, frequently caused by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle munitions. In its latest intelligence report, the UK Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian counter-attacks were holding Russians back from taking full control of Avdiivka. We have not taken explicit account of the impact on inflation, or on the wider economy, of price rises of other commodities of which Russia and Ukraine are also major global producers such as wheat, nickel, and palladium.
Russia Moving Closer To War In Ukraine, Minister Warns
This is because Nato uses a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. If Ukraine was part of Nato, the military alliance which is made up of 30 member states, including the US and UK, every Nato nation would have to launch an armed attack against Russia. Unfortunately, the attacks on Tuesday morning were just the latest of a series of acts of wanton destruction by Russia in Ukraine since we last gathered for a Permanent Council in December. Over the Christmas period, Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone strikes across cities in Ukraine including Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Lviv. This culminated on 29 December, when Russian unleashed its largest aerial assault against Ukraine since the war began. It killed at least 41 civilians, including a 15-year-old boy, wounded hundreds, and caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, including a maternity hospital.
Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden". Carl-Oskar Bohlin asked the public "have you considered whether you have time to join a voluntary defence organisation? If not - get moving!" His remarks were backed up by the country's top military commander, who said Sweden should prepare itself mentally. The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on our forecast for the UK economy comes primarily via the impact of higher energy prices on inflation, real incomes, consumption and imports.
- We are definitely inviting China to participate in the summit, at the highest level, at the level of the president of the People’s Republic of China.
- But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions.
- However, 76 per cent of the UK’s gross consumption comes from gas and oil compared with a European average of 57 per cent.
- Mr Johnson said the UK and its allies would agree a "massive package of economic sanctions" in a bid to "hobble" the Russian economy, warning that the West would need to cease its dependence on Russian oil and gas.
- "This is a grave moment for the security of Europe. Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine is putting countless lives at risk," he said.
- The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to Ukraine.