Russian Frozen Assets (Seizure and Aid to Ukraine)

Caroline Nokes Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I inform the House that the Nathan Gill bribery case is still technically sub judice until sentencing on 21 November. However, given that the accused has pleaded guilty to the charges, and in the light of Members’ continued interest in this case in the context of Russian interference in British politics, Mr Speaker has granted a limited waiver to allow discussion of the case during today’s proceedings. Members should avoid making reference to sentencing issues.

[Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the seizure of frozen assets connected to the Russian Federation; to require the Secretary of State to publish recommendations about the use of such assets to fund military, reconstruction and humanitarian work in Ukraine; and for connected purposes.

In November 2024, my constituent Alex wrote to me. He is a research scientist who has lived in the UK for over 25 years. Alex is Ukrainian. At a surgery, he told me how devastated and angry he is about the destruction of his country by Russian invaders. He also told me of his fear for his brother, who is fighting on the frontlines. Alex wanted to know why Ukraine was struggling to obtain the weapons that it needed to resist Russian assaults. He asked me a simple question: “What more can the UK do to help my brother and my country?”. The truth is that, in November 2024, the UK could do more, and 12 months later, the UK can still do more. This Bill sets out what the UK can do in one key area.

Alex’s story is one of tens of thousands just like it. We have all heard them from amazing Ukrainians who have been hosted by communities across the UK since Russia invaded. Those stories speak to the horror inflicted by Vladimir Putin. The UN estimates that over 50,000 Ukrainian citizens have become casualties of Putin’s war machine, including over 2,300 children who have been wounded, and more than 700 who have been killed. Tens of thousands of brave Ukrainian men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice on the frontline.

Some in this House, such as the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), would prefer to be apologists for Putin, but I know that I speak for most colleagues when I say that Putin alone is responsible for the atrocities that we are witnessing in Ukraine. Putin is not content merely to devastate Ukraine today. He is hell-bent on erasing its future. His systematic programme for the abduction of at least 20,000 Ukrainian children will go down as one of the vilest acts of this war. I want to pay tribute to those colleagues who have shone a spotlight on this appalling crime. We must all commit ourselves to returning each and every Ukrainian child to their home.

Putin’s ambitions stretch beyond Ukraine. In the Baltics, Russia poses an existential threat to our Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian allies, all of whom face daily cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns. In the Caucasus, Putin’s cronies in the Georgian Dream party have cracked down violently on democracy activists, while the Kremlin’s insidious efforts to distort elections in Moldova and Romania are well documented. Putin also wages a campaign of sabotage and cyber-war across the rest of Europe, including here at home. Confirmation over the weekend that the RAF will now be deployed to defend Belgian airspace against Russian drone threats speaks to the collective nature of the threat we face.

Putin’s imperial ambitions are extensive. That is why we must be unwavering in our support for the Ukrainian people. The UK has stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. That support was sustained by all three Prime Ministers in the previous Government, by the present Government, and by nearly all parties in this House across that time. We should be proud of that legacy.

By providing weapons, equipment and fighter pilot training, we have helped keep Ukraine in the fight. Our leadership on the G7’s efforts to crack down on Russian oil revenues has been vital in cutting Putin’s profits, but Liberal Democrats continue to call on the Government to go further to ensure that no actors in the UK economy can facilitate the sale of Russian gas. We are also pushing the Government to explain why more than £30 million-worth of Russian planes were imported to the UK last year.

Britain’s contribution has been crucial, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Rather, we must double down on our support. Last month, Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Denys Shmyhal, laid out the challenge: he estimated that Ukraine will need to spend $120 billion on defence in 2026, of which Ukraine can cover half. That leaves a $60 billion hole, which Ukraine’s allies have a duty to help fill. For many months, Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to fund Ukraine’s defence by seizing frozen Russian assets across the UK. The most recent estimates suggest that $300 billion of Russian assets are frozen across G7 countries, which includes close to £30 billion here in the UK. Seizing the UK-based assets could allow us to fill half of the projected deficit in Ukraine’s required defence spend for next year, while ensuring that Putin and his cronies are the ones who pay. We could help turbocharge Ukraine’s deep strike capabilities while bolstering the supply of air defence systems. In short, we could provide Ukraine with a vital new lifeline of support.

We find ourselves at a critical point. Ukraine’s need for finance is urgent. The UK’s efforts to move G7—and particularly EU—allies have not yet resulted in success. At the same time, one very specific item allied to this topic highlights the frustrations felt by so many in this House. In May 2022, the Conservative Government announced that they had

“agreed a Deed of Undertaking”

with Roman Abramovich,

“in which he commits the proceeds to a charity in a jurisdiction agreed by the Government for the purposes of helping victims of the war in Ukraine.”

In common with other Members, I have asked Ministers about those funds. On 24 February, 17 March and 21 May, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who is in his place, told me they were “redoubling” their efforts, “doing everything” they can and “working at pace”. However, over three and a half years on, there is no progress towards releasing the £2.3 billion, suggesting an alarming lack of either resolve or creativity from successive Governments.

I am keenly aware of the arguments raised against seizing Russia’s frozen assets. The primary concern is that a direct seizure creates the possibility of litigious action by the Kremlin. The second is that, by acting against Russia, we might inadvertently undermine wider confidence in the UK as a safe haven for financial assets. On the point about the legal risks, the US’s Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians—REPO—Act and Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act demonstrate that other allies believe it is possible to legislate effectively to allow for asset seizures. On the financial risks, I quote former Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, who said in March 2024:

“I think that the economic case is very strong. Here we are in the City of London, one of the great financial centres of the world. I do not think that using that money will disadvantage us in any way.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 5 March 2024; Vol. 836, c. 1545.]

I am conscious that these concerns have inspired important efforts in Brussels, aimed at securing Europe-wide agreement to proposals that would allow for the use of frozen assets, while reassuring Belgium in particular, where the majority of frozen assets are held, that the legal risk will be both reduced and shared. Although I welcome these efforts at securing international consensus, those proposals have stalled, and with each day that passes without concrete action to unleash the potential of the assets, Putin’s war machine makes further progress.

Last month, we learned that, shamefully, an elected UK MEP, Nathan Gill, took payment from a Russian agent, Oleg Voloshyn, to repeat pro-Russian propaganda in the European Parliament. Mr Gill sat in the European Parliament with party colleagues who now sit in this House. It is for the hon. Member for Clacton to explain his meetings with Mr Voloshyn’s wife, and for the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) to explain his public support for Mr Gill in 2019 and his more recent receipt of hospitality from Vladimir and Lubov Chernukhin. But I know that the overwhelming majority of colleagues in this House—just like the constituents we all represent—want us to provide the brave men and women of Ukraine with the funds that they need to defend themselves. I am proud to present this Bill on a cross-party basis, and am grateful to my co-sponsors and other Members who have shown their support.

Thirteen months later, I am still motivated by Alex’s question. I am no longer prepared to tell him that it is “very hard”, or that Belgium is cautious. This has become a question of will. The time for delay and timidity is over. I believe that it is the will of this House to legislate so that the UK can lead our G7 and EU partners in seizing Russian state assets in the UK and making them available to Ukraine. Ukraine needs her friends to step forward with urgency and purpose. She needs our financial support today, so that she can purchase the military matériel to drive back the Russians and defend her sovereign territory. I urge the Government to show leadership towards our European and G7 allies and to work with colleagues from across the House to enact this Bill.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Before I put the Question, I would like to confirm whether the hon. Member informed the hon. Members for Clacton (Nigel Farage) and for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) of his intention to refer to them. If he has not, it would have been a courtesy for him to have done so in advance.

Question put and agreed to.

Ordered,

That Calum Miller, James MacCleary, Monica Harding, Dr Al Pinkerton, Mike Martin, Richard Foord, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Stephen Gethins, Sir Julian Lewis and Alex Sobel present the Bill.

Calum Miller accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 30 January 2026, and to be printed (Bill 326).