The Ukraine Effect (European Affairs Committee Report)

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, it is indeed a particular pleasure to participate in another debate on Ukraine and to see almost complete unanimity yet again across the House on the findings of the European Affairs Committee’s report on the Ukraine effect, examining the profound impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on UK-EU relations. I join in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, for chairing this committee, and all noble Lords who participated in the production of this report and in today’s debate. Special mention should go to the noble Lord, Lord Levene, for such a splendid valedictory speech. We will miss his contributions to the House. An extra-special mention goes to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, who has turned up so stylishly attired in the colours of Ukraine. I miss our exchanges across the Dispatch Box during the Brexit years.

As we mark the 1,000th day of war in Ukraine, most noble Lords taking part in this debate have agreed that the war is indeed taking on a concerning and deadly new angle. I think we all agree that we have a moral and political duty to stand up for Ukraine. We have seen troops from North Korea arriving in Russia and videos of them training in Russian fatigues, and we also know that Russia has procured multiple weapons from North Korea and Iran to aid in, frankly, the murder of Ukrainian citizens. Yesterday, it was reported that Russia even launched an ICBM at Ukraine. Yet, also yesterday, I watched with open-mouthed astonishment the Russian Foreign Minister gazing at the camera and solemnly complaining about the West apparently escalating the war. The unbelievable hypocrisy of the current Russian leadership would indeed be laughable if the issue were not so profoundly serious.

As many speakers have observed, we are all waiting, perhaps with some trepidation, to see what the new US Administration will do on Ukraine. I hope and expect that the Government will do all they can to ensure the continuation of the vital military and financial support. I do not often agree with the noble Lord, Lord Liddle, but he was right to call out some members of the GOP for delaying the much-needed support that Ukraine needed in Congress earlier this year.

I am extremely proud of the fact that the previous Conservative Government were instrumental in supporting Ukraine in holding the Russian war machine to account. We implemented an unprecedented number of sanctions on Russia, with the EU closely following and aligning with us, as outlined in the report, and I am delighted to see that the current Government are continuing with that excellent work.

The report states that

“the imposition of sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been effective overall”,

but we should always look to do more. I was particularly pleased that we established the OFSI—a vital part of the process—but it is of some concern that the OFSI has yet to fine any single individual or entity for sanctions evasions. I would be grateful if the Minister gave an update on what current enforcement action is foreseen, because we all know that widespread sanctions evasion is taking place.

To take one example, I saw yesterday that the exiled Russian opposition leader, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, highlighted how one Indian company, Shreya Life Sciences, exported to Russia over $300 million-worth of high-end Dell AI computer servers, sourced from Malaysia, earlier this year. These servers are restricted under both US and EU sanctions targeting military technology, and they can be used to power Russia’s electronic warfare systems. It deserves saying that the company is probably acting legally under Indian and Malaysian law, but I strongly believe that it is about time we started sanctioning some of these many companies—often Indian, Chinese, and perhaps some from the British Overseas Territories—that are making huge sums of money supplying Putin’s war machine in Ukraine.

As my noble friend Lord Godson observed, it is also clear from the report that leaving the EU has not in fact hindered our ability to work alongside the EU and to be swift and firm in sanctioning Russia. The report says:

“Without the need for agreement on unanimity, the UK can be nimbler and swifter in imposing sanctions”,


which, of course, it would not have been able to do if we were still in the EU.

This conflict starkly underscores the importance of close co-ordination between all like-minded nations—both those within and those without the EU. It has reunited the UK’s leadership on European security and reaffirmed the strategic value of NATO, where we must continue to champion that important collective defence. However, the report also highlights some underexplored areas of our post-Brexit relationship. Perhaps the Minister will able to say more about this in her reply. The report’s note that

“persuasive evidence that sanctions are most effective when they are enforced by as wide a coalition of countries as possible”

is indeed true.

Perhaps the Minister could update the House on how the Government are working with international partners to ensure that our sanctions regime is working in coalition with our many esteemed international partners. Does she know of any loopholes in the sanctions regime in the context of gaps between our regimes and our international partners’ regimes? Reinvigorating these ties enhances our strategic autonomy and bolsters resilience against the many authoritarian threats we now face.

The report also notes:

“The UK’s expertise in developing and implementing sanctions regimes is an asset which should be used more actively to support the capabilities of other countries, both EU and non-EU”.


The aim of sharing the UK’s experience should be to ensure a more effective implementation of sanctions by a wider range of countries. Again, I am interested to hear the Minister’s comments on that.

We on these Benches welcome the recent moves by His Majesty’s Government to sanction Russia’s shadow fleet by way of statutory instrument. The report goes on to claim that sanctions enforcement is a big issue, noting that

“REDRESS’s assessment of the UK’s performance as ‘weak’ and Spotlight on Corruption’s evidence that investigation of sanctions evasion had experienced ‘serious setbacks’”.

We all know that these issues are difficult. The previous Government struggled and I am sure the current Government will struggle. Things will never be perfect but we really should redouble our efforts to ensure that sanctions are as widely observed as possible. As many noble Lords have observed, effective sanctions regimes rely completely and solely on effective enforcement. Can the Minister address this concern in her response and perhaps share some specific examples of the robust action being taken by the Government and their agencies to enforce UK sanctions regimes?

In conclusion, it has been gratifying to see so much cross-party support across the House, across the Benches and political parties, for the Government’s actions on Ukraine. It is great that we are not suffering some of the political difficulties some other European countries are seeing in standing by Ukraine in its hour of need. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.