The UK government is providing a range of economic, humanitarian and defensive military assistance to Ukraine, and is imposing additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus.
Richard Fuller MP said:
Russia’s appalling assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign, democratic state and we are relentlessly committed to supporting Ukraine by making sure Vladimir Putin feels the full cost of his actions, including implementing the most severe package of sanctions Russia has ever seen.
We are also providing defensive support to Ukraine; £220 million in aid; and offering sanctuary to innocent Ukrainians.
Earlier in the week, I joined colleagues from across the House of Commons in signing the Book of Solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they bravely resist Putin’s unprovoked and illegal invasion. The signed Book of Solidarity will be sent to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Parliament of Ukraine.
There were also remarkable and unprecedented scenes in the Commons chamber on Wednesday as the Speaker announced that the Ukraine Ambassador was in the gallery for Prime Minister's Questions.
The UK government is providing additional humanitarian aid for vital medical supplies and other help, including supporting non-governmental organisation responders by match funding £20 million of public contributions to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine humanitarian appeal. It is the UK's 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 aid-match contribution. The best way for people to give money with confidence is via the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal which brings together 15 UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently .To donate, please visit dec.org.uk. In addition to this, the UK government is giving £220 million to Ukraine for medical supplies, aid and other practical support.
The UK is also providing defensive military aid to Ukraine, continuing to work with international partners to supply vital weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
People who are settled in the UK will be able to bring their Ukrainian immediate family members to join them, providing a route for Ukrainians fleeing disaster, war, and persecution to come here under the Ukrainian Family Scheme. Eligibility has now been extended to adult parents, grandparents, children over 18, siblings, and all of their immediate family members. It also includes step-children. This is in addition to the existing announcement which provides for a spouse, fiancée, proposed civil partner, civil partner, unmarried partner and child under the age of 18, or the parent of a British national child under 18. Details on how to apply can be found on the government pages here.
The Home Office is also opening the Ukrainian Sponsorship Humanitarian Visa Offer which will provide a route to the UK for Ukrainians who do not have family ties with the UK but who will be matched with individuals, businesses, community organisations, or Local Authorities willing and able to act as a sponsor. .
The government is also coordinating with partners on sanctions aimed at starving the Russian government of funds to further its unprovoked war against Ukraine, imposing wide-ranging sanctions on Russian businesses, banks and individuals, including a joint decision by all G7 countries to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT system.
The government is sanctioning over 100 more companies and oligarchs, worth hundreds of billions of pounds and will freeze all their assets in the UK and prevent any UK entities from engaging with these organisations and individuals in the UK or overseas, and will impose a travel ban on individuals. The UK is sanctioning Vladmir Putin himself and his inner circle, including Sergey Lavrov, hitting the Kremlin regime at its heart. They will be hit with an assets freeze and blocked from any future business in the UK.
Each year, Russian banks clear £146 billion of sterling payments through the UK financial system. Over the last seven years, Russian companies have raised $8 billion on UK markets. No longer. The UK's stricter sanctions – imposed in alignment with the US, EU and other partners – will act as a drag on Russia's economy for years to come. Over three million Russian companies will be banned from accessing funding via UK capital markets. The impact is already being felt. An index tracking London-based Russian firms – including energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft, and Russia's biggest bank Sberbank – had already plunged 98% in two weeks, wiping well over £420 billion from their valuations, before the London Stock Exchange suspended trading in 27 companies with strong Russian links on Thursday this week. These included Gazprom, Rosneft, Sberbank, and Lukoil.
The Foreign Secretary also launched a first tranche of sanctions against Belarus for its role supporting Russia’s military invasion. Four senior defence officials and two military enterprises have been sanctioned with immediate effect – building on the sanctions the UK already placed on more than 100 people and organisations in Belarus after Lukashenko’s fraudulent elections and human rights abuses.
The Business Secretary is also bringing forward measures from the Economic Crime Bill early which strengthen Unexplained Wealth Orders and broaden their scope, cracking down on corrupt elites in the UK. These new proposals will allow the government to target those who hold property in the UK in a trust and the definition of an asset’s ‘holder’ will also be expanded to ensure individuals can’t hide behind opaque shell companies and foundations. The government is also creating a register of overseas entities, exposing foreign property owners who try to hide behind secretive shell companies. The new register will require anonymous foreign owners of UK property to reveal their real identities to ensure criminals cannot hide behind secretive shell companies, with those who break the rules facing up to 5 years in prison and restrictions on selling their property. More information can be found here.
For more information on how individuals can help, please visit this page.
