1000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine: Foreign Secretary statement to the House of Commons
Foreign Secretary David Lammy gave an oral statement to the House of Commons to mark 1000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on Ukraine.
It has been 1000 days. 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion stunned the world. 1000 days in which Ukrainian bravery has inspired the world. 1000 days whose horror and bloodshed has dismayed the world.
This war matters. It matters greatly for Britain and the global order. But first and foremost, we must reflect on what it means for Ukrainians.
Today, children mourn lost parents. Parents mourn lost children. Families live with constant fear. Individuals bear scars that will never truly heal.
So I say to His Excellency the Ukrainian Ambassador in London, and to the Ukrainian people today, as on every day of the last 1000 days, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Of course, Ukrainians need not just words, but actions, and this Government has not wavered. We have stepped up support to Ukraine. We have ramped up the pressure on Russia, and we have made it clear to the world just what is at stake.
In our first week in office, my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister confirmed that we would provide £3 billion a year in military aid. This year, next year, and every year that it is needed.
This includes my Right Honourable Friend the Defence Secretary’s announcements today. More funding for Ukraine’s navy, more funding for drones, the extension of Operation Interflex, which has trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian troops to date.
And I have also increased non-military support. This financial year, we will give at least £250 million in bilateral assistance for work such as on protecting the Ukrainian power grid, which just this weekend suffered another Russian onslaught.
Mr Speaker: crucially, our bilateral support, both military and non-military, will be higher this financial year than in any previous financial year since the war began.
And Mr Speaker let me also pay tribute to the opposition, for their leadership on these issues, when they were in office.
Because the truth is, this House has been able to speak, on Ukraine with one voice, and long may that continue.
And that is not all that we have done. We are also finding creative ways to bolster the Ukrainian economy further. We have brought the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Deal into force, so they benefit from cheaper and quicker trade. UK Export Finance has provided over £500 million in loan guarantees, including for Ukraine’s own defence industry.
British International Investment is working with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development to support Ukrainian trade. By the end of this year, we will have deployed a further $484 million in World Bank loan guarantees.
And tomorrow, this House will debate a Bill confirming a new £2.26 billion loan to Ukraine as part of a G7 package of $50 billion.
This Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration scheme will sustain Ukraine in the fight, all paid for by the profits from frozen Russian assets.
Mr Speaker, I have made it my personal mission to do all that I can to constrain the Kremlin. Since July, we have sanctioned almost forty vessels in Putin’s ‘Shadow Fleet’ of oil tankers, barring them from our ports and denying them access to our maritime services.
We have sanctioned firms who supply Russia’s military-industrial complex, including Chinese firms sending critical components, such as for drones.
We have sanctioned cyber criminals from the aptly-named Evil Corps, Russian troops who have used chemical weapons on the battlefield, mercenaries responsible for destabilising Africa.
And we have taken further action this week: yesterday, I imposed more sanctions in response to Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, including on Iran Air.
Today, I am announcing measures against those monsters who have forcibly deported Ukrainian children for attempted indoctrination by the Kremlin.
Mr Speaker, I am proud of all this Government has done to support Ukraine. Proud of the unity that this House has shown on this issue. Proud that we have proven Britain will remain Ukraine’s staunchest friend, throughout this war and in the peace that follows.
But we are always stronger when we work with others. So I am also proud of what we have done to rally international support to Ukraine.
I visited Ukraine with US Secretary of State Tony Blinken – the first such joint visit to any country for over a decade. I discussed Ukraine with the EU Foreign Affairs Council – the first appearance by a Foreign Secretary at a regular Council meeting since our EU exit. Yesterday, I chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Ukraine.
And just this morning, I joined a meeting of close European allies to discuss how to bolster our support for Ukraine in the coming months. In all our discussions, with allies and partners across the globe, we are stressing three fundamental truths about this war.
First, Ukraine’s cause is a just one. It is Putin who chose to invade a sovereign country which posed no threat to Russia. Putin who disregarded the UN Charter. Putin who is trying to turn back the clock to an age of empire-building, when might made right, and ordinary people must suffer the consequences.
And it is Putin and his allies, who are recklessly escalating this war with Iranian ballistic missiles used to strike Ukrainian cities, and North Korean troops sent to attack Ukrainian soldiers.
So when we support Ukraine, we are not just aiding the fight for their freedom. We are also contributing to our fight for our freedom.
The freedom of all states, all over the world, to choose their own destiny and future.
The second truth: Putin’s war is not going that well. Russia is now almost 1000 days into a war it thought would end in days. Russia has suffered record numbers of casualties in the past two months, with numbers killed or injured due to exceed a million next year.
Russia is slashing welfare payments and raising interest rates to levels not seen in decades, all to fund more arms.
Russia has had to turn to Tehran, it’s had to turn to Pyongyang, as reserves of Soviet-era equipment and targets for Kremlin press-gangs run low. This is not sustainable.
The war is costing Putin dearly. All in a fight for land to which Russia has absolutely no right, and for which the Russian people are paying an enormous price.
And the final truth: Putin has no interest in a just peace. It is 1000 days since his full-scale invasion, but over ten years since he first seized Crimea and sponsored insurrection in the Donbas.
And even longer that he has sought to meddle in Ukrainian affairs, all to further his own interests.
Putin has a track record of violating past agreements. He shows no sign of wanting peace. He would seek to exploit any pause in fighting to win his troops a respite, before resuming hostilities as he did after the failed Minsk talks.
Mr Speaker, we underline these truths because they must inform our strategy. If we want to see peace restored in Europe, we need Putin to see there is no route to military victory. We need to make the price he pays for his senseless war even higher.
We need to remember the price we would pay for his victory would be higher still. We need Ukraine to stay strong, and so they need us to stay strong by their side.
That is what this House wants us to do. That is what this Government will do. That is what we call on our allies to do. Slava Ukraini.
I commend this statement to the House.