Support for Ukraine and Countering Threats from Russia

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

In the last week, the terrifying wail of air-raid sirens has been heard on the European continent for the first time in decades. The heroic reports of the resistance of the Ukrainian army alongside brave civilians bearing arms, theoretically outgunned, outmanned and outmatched, are legion. However, Putin’s imperialist and indiscriminate invasion has not only killed women and children sheltering in their homes as so-called collateral damage, but there is increasing evidence of civilians, including families, being explicitly targeted by Russian forces. He is encircling civilian areas to block off supply routes, he has used cluster munitions in residential areas and there are reports, unverified at this point, of even worse. In short, Vladimir Putin has brought war back to the continent of Europe and in doing so has shown blatant disregard for the Minsk protocol and, crucially and shamefully, the Geneva conventions. Vladimir Putin’s enduring legacy will be that of a war criminal. I very much hope, although sadly doubt, that he will pay for his crimes in The Hague at some future point.

The only heartening thing—the only bit of hope—beyond, of course, the bravery and skill of the Ukrainians, is the cohesion and unity of purpose of the western alliance, including our friends in the European Union who have taken some hitherto unimaginable decisions and acted at a speed that runs entirely counter to the usual sedate Brussels pace. If Putin thought that he could divide the EU, weaken NATO and break the international community, not only has he fallen short, but he has achieved the polar opposite.

The antithesis of Putin’s cowardice as he cowers from covid and criticism in the Kremlin is President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people. I have been asked by a great many constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire North to send our very best wishes to the people of Ukraine and to state that we stand in solidarity with them. As many others have said, everyone wants to help. We are assisting a group of Polish residents in Renfrewshire who are collecting essential items for Ukrainian refugees. My office, despite the advice of the hon. Member for Devizes (Danny Kruger) earlier, has been acting as a drop-off point since yesterday and we have already been inundated. Some of those people speak to me, sadly and almost in disbelief, about their own UK Government’s refusal to match the EU’s offer of refuge for three years without a visa requirement. Although the changes announced yesterday are welcome, they still fall short of where we should be.

We gave the people of Ukraine an assurance in the Budapest memorandum against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. I do not want to be naive about just how difficult that undertaking was and is, but we have singularly failed to do that. Far worse, in my opinion, is the failure to offer unconditional refuge to the people of Ukraine. This Government have done a great many things right in the past few weeks, but that failure, alongside the refusal to close the Russian sanctions loopholes and failing even to sanction some key individuals already sanctioned by our allies, is a stain on this Government and this country.

Of course, the villain in all of this is Vladimir Putin. His actions are severely damaging the long-term interests of Russia and, crucially, of the Russian people. I suspect that despite Putin’s best efforts, an increasing number of Russians understand that as well. Thousands march against the invasion, for peace and freedom, and end up thrown in the back of a police van. In Putin’s Russia, the mildest criticism will not be tolerated. History tells us, however, that that cannot last and that ultimately the longing for peace and freedom cannot be silenced. We stand with those Russians who seek peace and a Putin-free future just as much as we stand with the people of Ukraine.