Ukraine

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Friday 31st October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB)]

My Lords, I was president of the CBI when the Ukraine war started, when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On the Monday after the war started, I went to see ambassador Vadym Prystaiko at the Ukrainian embassy to offer the help of British industry. It was then that I heard from the horse’s mouth that Ukraine was going to fight. Putin thought that, in the same way as the Taliban walked into Afghanistan after our withdrawal and the Afghan army capitulated, he would be able to walk into Kyiv and take over the whole of Ukraine. We must remember that the war started over a decade ago—in Crimea in 2014.

As the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, said in his excellent speech, Moscow’s aim was to undermine NATO, but here is blunder number two by Putin. The week after the invasion, I was scheduled to speak to the EU ambassadors at their regular meeting at the EU embassy in Smith Square. During my speech I looked at the ambassadors of Finland and Sweden and said, “Are you ready now to join NATO?” They said, “We are ready within five minutes”. Sure enough, Finland and Sweden have now joined NATO: two formidable defence powers, with Finland able to muster hundreds of thousands of trained troops within weeks. They have a far longer border with Russia—more than 1,400 kilometres—than Ukraine does. Both countries are also formidable defence manufacturing powers: rifles, artillery, aircraft, you name it.

The noble Lord, Lord Coaker, in his excellent opening speech, said that there is a lack of equipment. We cannot support Ukraine in a half-hearted way. Every Peer who has spoken in this debate, whether independent or from any party, is united in defending and supporting Ukraine, but we must do it all the way. Why do we not give them the Tomahawks? President Zelensky said, “Give me wings”, when he came here and addressed us. As an honorary group captain in 601 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, I am so proud that it is the RAF that is now training Ukrainian pilots to fly F16s. I am like a stuck record. In the 2019 debate on the 70th anniversary of NATO, I said that when we were spending 2% of GDP on defence, we should be spending 3%. Does the Minister agree that that is what we should be doing?

Russia’s illegal invasion continues to devastate Ukraine as a country, displace millions and undermine European and global security. The fighting is intense, yet Russia’s progress is limited. Ukraine still holds the fortified fortress belt. Russia has now intensified its missile and drone campaign. In one week earlier this month, it launched more than 3,000 drones, 92 missiles and 1,400 glide bombs. Financial support for Ukraine has been amazing and, on top of that, I am proud of the way the UK leads the coalition of the willing with France. I am proud at the way the UK leads in the United Nations and with other resolutions that are required.

Why are we worried about escalation? Already, the Russians have incursions in Estonian airspace and in Poland. We have got to deal with this and face up to it. Importantly, Ukraine has now become a testing ground for modern warfare, pioneering FPV drones, small-unit manoeuvres, electronic warfare protection, naval drones and drones for logistics and prisoner capture. This is fantastic. Ukraine has institutionalised a Test in Ukraine programme. We need to learn from the Ukrainians. No one has mentioned that £3.5 billion in UK export finance has enabled Ukraine to build and reconstruct six bridges in the Kyiv region and supported delivery of mine countermeasure vessels. I am proud of that. On top of that, there are 2,800 sanctions.

Yet, since November 2022, Russia has gained only 1% of Ukrainian territory. Its losses are horrific. More than 1 million soldiers have been killed or wounded, as has been mentioned. Russia is also losing huge amounts of material—4,000 tanks, 9,000 armoured vehicles, 2,000 artillery pieces—and is failing to achieve its goals on the battlefield. I acknowledge the excellent maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Barrow, with all his expertise.

Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said that he would be prepared to station Britain’s troops in Ukraine in peace. Will the Minister confirm that? The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and leaders of Nordic countries have said that they are confident that the use of Russian frozen assets for Ukrainian benefit would be approved by December. Do we support that?

Nick Robinson recently interviewed Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, our former Chief of the Defence Staff. He said this:

“If a snail had left Rostov-on-Don in Russia on February 24, 2022, by now it would have crossed all the way through Ukraine and would be halfway through Poland. That’s how difficult Russia is finding it just to get those four oblasts. If Russia carries on at the pace that it currently is, it will take it 4.4 years to get the remaining territory in those four oblasts. And having lost 1 million people killed and wounded, it will lose a further 2 million people killed and wounded. So this is about Ukraine’s bravery, Ukraine’s courage, our support to Ukraine to keep them in the fight and to keep imposing that cost on Russia”.


I conclude with this quote from Yuval Noah Harari in the Financial Times:

“War is not won by the side that conquers more land, destroys more cities, or kills more people. War is won by the side that achieves its political aims. And in Ukraine, it is already clear that Putin has failed to achieve his chief war aim—the destruction of the Ukrainian nation”.


The voice from the House of Lords to the world, to this country and to Ukraine is loud and clear: the United Kingdom stands by Ukraine 100%, all the way.