Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

John Healy, who represents the Labor Party, assured that Ukraine can count on strong bipartisan support from the United Kingdom.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked the United Kingdom for its consistent and unwavering support for Ukraine, as well as for the practical assistance provided by the United Kingdom to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities.

The parties discussed steps Ukraine and its allies must take together to counter blackmail and Russian attacks.

The Chair of the Committee is convinced that allies should focus on three areas. First, on tough sanctions against the Russian Federation: “Unfortunately, Russia understands only the language of a united power. Over the past week, when dialogues with Russia have taken place on various platforms, we have seen that it does not really intend to stop. And now, after the events in Kazakhstan and after the so-called “achievements” in Belarus, Russia’s appetite has grown up. Only a strong, single rebuff can stop it”.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that Russian leader has ambition to go down in history as the one who revived the USSR, which was founded exactly one hundred years ago. So he obviously sees some symbolism in reviving the Soviet empire right now. That is why Russia is so actively pressuring, intimidating and blackmailing the democratic world. Putin will do everything possible to sow discord between the countries, so that there is no unity in support of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

The second important thing is to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself. On all fronts, including energy. The West shall finally work together to stop Nord Stream-2. What else do we need to see for both the United States and the European Union to understand that Russia is already using gas as a weapon?

According to the Chair of the Committee, internal unity should be the third and most important factor in a strong position against Russia. She also called on the West not to hesitate to impose sanctions. The Allies have repeatedly said that tough and unprecedented sanctions would be imposed if Russia launched a new aggression against Ukraine. Unfortunately, Russia does this every day: “We hear from everywhere that if Putin does this, if he attacks, there will be an answer. But Putin is taking some steps every day in our territory. He distributes hundreds of thousands of Russian passports in our occupied territories to Ukrainians who have no choice. He has already partially achieved his goals”, the Committee Chair stressed.

She also called on British colleagues to help Ukraine strengthen its internal resilience. “We have asked NATO for help in strengthening our internal resilience, and some programs have already been launched. And this needs to be continued and developed. Everything that can be done to support these programs by the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and as a member of NATO, is important for Ukraine”, the Committee Chair concluded.