Ukraine

Lord Kempsell Excerpts

Friday 25th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kempsell (Con)]

My Lords, I join in the sentiments of praise for the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Spellar. I certainly look forward to his future contributions.

Throughout the debate we have heard so much about the echoes of history and of former conflicts. Of course, historians will draw on the proceedings of your Lordships’ House and the other place as primary evidence when they write about wars and this country’s place in them. That got me thinking about the great parliamentary debates of wartime, and perhaps the most famous in the other place, the Norway debate of May 1940 or the Saturday Sitting of the other place during the invasion of the Falkland Islands in April 1982. These moments distil the conduct of war into the conduct of parliamentary debate. That set me wondering just what conclusions the historians of the future will draw when they look back and examine the Hansard records that we are creating today, as they analyse the United Kingdom’s posture at this particular moment of the war on Ukraine.

I am anxious—along with my noble friends Lord Banner and Lord Robathan and the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, in the sentiments they have expressed—that when it comes to Storm Shadow those historians may find some evidence to suggest that the UK was, at this precise time, not in the position of global leadership that it should be when it comes to the defence of Ukraine. That is not a comfortable view and not one that is necessarily easy to face up to—and none of it, I should say, is to question the intentions, commitment or good nature of the Government and all those engaged so tirelessly from the UK side in Ukraine’s defence. I join noble Lords from across the House in praising and thanking Ministers who are working so hard and tirelessly on this vital issue. But it is an anxiety that I have arrived at through some first-hand experience.

I have been fortunate to travel to Ukraine multiple times since the illegal invasion, to have visited Kyiv, Lviv and other areas, and even to have met on a number of occasions President Zelensky and his Ministers, alongside our former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. During my most recent visit last month, I found the Ukrainians as resolute and determined as ever to defend their people, their country, their democracy and their absolutely justified right to national sovereignty. But as I arrived in Kyiv, the headlines in London were all about western Governments’ delay in allowing the Ukrainian armed forces to deploy Storm Shadow in the way they had requested. Indeed, as President Zelensky said in August this year when he visited London, talking specifically about the pace of support:

“Unfortunately, the situation has slowed down recently”.


Those comments should make us uneasy, because the United Kingdom has rightly been the country that has so consistently been in the very front of the vanguard of support for Ukraine, committing £12.8 billion— £7.8 billion in military support and £5 billion in non-military support, according to the latest figures—as well as training more than 47,000 Ukrainian personnel under Operation Interflex and providing shelter to more than 215,000 Ukrainians in the UK, including more than 150,000 via Homes for Ukraine. Those are the figures as of earlier this month. With such a distinguished and proud record of support, why is it that the Ukrainians themselves feel something of a slowdown?

Last month I was able to visit a recovery centre in Kyiv for wounded veterans, where I think I heard the answer to that question. I met many veterans who were severely wounded, having lost limbs and been disfigured. As those veterans spoke in a quiet ward, in a hospital surrounded by trees in a suburb of Kyiv, what came across time and again in their testimony was that they thought that for Ukraine to win, the military reality demands an ability to project force over longer distances, to engage Russian targets at greater ranges, to provide deep strike capabilities and, crucially, not just to send the weapons but to allow them to be used now. That is the current military calculation from those at the sharp end; let future historians note that testimony.

Hearing the stories of those soldiers and seeing their pain, but also their determination, moved me. It made me realise so vividly that as a young person enjoying a peaceful life in the UK, my freedom is resting on a wave of heroism and sacrifice from every generation in Ukraine, but particularly the young. It is a sister democracy and a brother nation, just a short flight away. That is why we must all, as parliamentarians, use our faculties here to make the case for NATO membership for Ukraine, true freedom to use Storm Shadow and other decisive weapons, and a rapid execution of military, diplomatic, financial and political strength, with the United Kingdom at the absolute forefront to help deliver a Ukrainian victory.