Support for Ukraine and Countering Threats from Russia

Paul Bristow Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Paul Bristow (Peterborough) (Con)]

When communism collapsed in the 1990s, the shadow of war in Europe appeared to have been lifted. Our expectation of peace has been fundamental. It led to our values being taken for granted, cynicism about our institutions flourishing, and some even nurturing scorn for the idea of the west and our open democratic societies.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended that era. There can be no doubt about where we stand or why it matters. The horrifying images of tanks rolling down residential streets, flats being shelled, rockets hitting playgrounds and innocent civilians dying mean that there is no ambiguity. There is right and there is wrong. The invasion is utterly wrong and those acts are war crimes. At the same time, we have seen the heroic defiance of the Ukrainian people—their bravery, fortitude and humour and their refusal to surrender their country, even at the cost of their own lives.

The contrast between President Zelensky and Vladimir Putin is stark. Putin’s attempts to mislead and confuse succeeded when it came to Crimea, Syria and beyond. This time, he has succeeded only in confusing his own army and uniting most of the world against him. German politics has undergone a watershed; Switzerland is no longer neutral; sanctions, asset freezes and banking suspensions stretch the globe from Latin America to the far east; and even China has stopped talking about NATO provocation. The clear and repeated warnings from the United States and our intelligence agencies proved entirely correct, while every assurance from the Kremlin and its fellow travellers was a lie.

We can be proud of the role of our country. The UK has trained over 22,000 members of the Ukrainian army. We sent 2,000 of our anti-tank weapons before the invasion began. We continue to send supplies and hardware. The Prime Minister has been speaking to President Zelensky every day, and led the effort to exclude Russia from the SWIFT banking system. Nothing is off the table when it comes to further sanctions.

Putin must fail, his morally bankrupt regime must fall and the Russian oligarchs who have based themselves here, while maintaining their role there, must choose. We have asked too few questions of the foreign money that has bought high-value property, serviced by London lawyers, accountants and advisers. Tolerance needs to be replaced by transparency and action.

Yet equally, our issue is not with the Russian people, or many Russians living in the UK who share our horror at Putin’s war crimes. Most are as opposed to his actions as Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Peterborough is home to so many from eastern Europe. We have relatives not only of those under siege in Ukrainian cities, but of those from countries nearby, who understandably fear what may happen next. The Baltic states and Poland are members of NATO. Our commitment to defend their borders from Russian aggression is absolute.

It is heartbreaking that we cannot go further to help Ukraine without risking direct war with Russia, with consequences that would be hard to contain or control. Nevertheless, Putin is not achieving his objectives. As his frustration grows, the deliberate bombardment of civilians is increasing to appalling effect.

For my family, this is personal because Anton “Gido” Petela, who died only very recently, was from Ukraine. While his family originally lived in the Habsburg empire, in Austria-Hungary, following world war one it became part of Poland, but in 1939, the Soviet Union came— déjà vu and he told his family of the horrors on finding bodies walled up in cellars when the Soviets retreated in 1941. He ended up here in the UK, had two sons and three granddaughters, and I married one, hence for me this is a personal experience.