Hansard

Today, we woke to the horror of an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and to a reality that we all hoped had become unthinkable: a land war in Europe. Today, literally as we speak, that horror in Ukraine is intensifying.

Much discussion will rightly focus on the geopolitical impact but, as ever when so-called strongman leaders flex their muscles, it is the innocent and most vulnerable who suffer the most. At the sharp end of any conflict are men, women and children—civilians who have the right to go about their daily lives in peace but who will inevitably bear the brunt of this full-scale invasion. Many will be terrified and are fleeing. Our thoughts are with them in this darkest of hours and we must provide them with practical support, aid and refuge.

This is arguably the most serious moment that the world has faced since the end of the cold war and is one of the most dangerous since world war two. By launching this invasion of a sovereign independent nation, Vladimir Putin has committed an illegal act of aggression that has no conceivable justification. His warped rewriting of history underpinning his imperialist delusions is no justification. His claims about the actions of Ukraine’s Government are false and offer no justification. Notwithstanding different opinions here and elsewhere about the role and objectives of NATO, his assertions about its so-called eastern expansion and threat to Russian security lack credibility. They are an excuse, not a reason, and they are certainly not a justification.

Putin’s motives are simpler: imperialist expansion, coupled with a fear of allowing democracy to flourish on his borders in case it finds its way into Russia. If those are his motives, no one should doubt his ultimate intention. He wants to end Ukraine’s very existence as an independent democratic state. This is, therefore, a moment of genuine peril, first and foremost for the people of Ukraine, but also for the world. It is a time for all democracies and all countries that believe in the rule of international law to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and to stand against Russian aggression.

That is why I believe that it is important for Parliament today to condemn Russia’s actions unreservedly, to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to support Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. That is the right thing for all countries to do, but I know that, in expressing our solidarity with Ukraine, many of us are mindful of the strong ties between Scotland and Ukraine. As one example, our capital city, Edinburgh, is twinned with Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. There are several thousand Ukrainian citizens living here in Scotland, and they are valued and welcome members of our communities. For all of them, especially those who have family and friends still in Ukraine, this will be an especially anxious time. The Scottish Government will do all that we can to support them, and we will work with the Foreign Office to support inquiries from any in Scotland who may be worried about loved ones in Ukraine.

We are also working with the United Kingdom Government and the other devolved Governments to ensure that support is available if needed to Ukrainian British nationals who are returning to the UK. Yesterday, I discussed the concerns of Ukrainians in Scotland with both the acting consul general and with Linda Allison, the chair of the Ukrainian community here. I made clear to both of them the Scottish Government’s condemnation of Russian actions and our support for, and solidarity with, the people of Ukraine.

In addition, I made it clear that Scotland stands with those members of the international community that have opposed Russian aggression by imposing sanctions. After all, expressions of solidarity with Ukraine, welcome though they are, are not sufficient in this moment of great peril. Firm and decisive action is needed, in particular because this week’s atrocities by Russia are not isolated but part of a pattern of this Russian regime’s aggression, which includes the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the Salisbury poisonings in 2018.

I refer to the Russian regime deliberately, because it is important to be clear that the crimes—I also use that word deliberately—that are now being committed by Putin should be laid at his door and at the doors of his kleptocratic cronies. They should not be laid at the door of the people of Russia wholesale, nor should they be laid at the door of Russians or people of Russian background who are now living here in Scotland.

However, those crimes cannot and must not go unanswered. We cannot have a situation—as arguably happened with Crimea—in which the world expresses shock and outrage for a period of time but then allows the Russian regime to consolidate its gains with relatively few consequences and go on to plan further aggression. If we are to deter Putin this time, sanctions must hit him and his allies hard, with severe and lasting consequences. He must pay a heavy price for aggression.

I therefore welcome the European Union’s intention to impose a package of what it calls “massive and targeted sanctions”, the detail of which we should learn tonight. The UK will, sadly, not now be in the room when those sanctions are being discussed and decided but, as the Estonian Prime Minister said this morning,

“The most effective response to Russia’s aggression is unity,”

so I hope that we will see co-ordinated action across the international community.

We welcome the sanctions that the UK Government announced on Tuesday but, as I said at the time, those measures against just five banks and three individuals were too limited. In my view, there is no case at all to delay tough action now. The experience of recent years has shown that softer action does not encourage better behaviour on the part of Putin; it simply emboldens him in his aggressions.

The UK Government must therefore announce further and much more significant steps as quickly as possible, and I am hopeful that it will do so. We must also address the fact—it is a fact—that the City of London is awash with Russian money. The UK Government’s response must therefore include a ruthless and comprehensive attack on the wealth and assets of the Russian regime and its backers. That demands a serious and systematic approach, and the Scottish Government will strongly support further moves by the UK Government in that direction.

The Scottish Government will also work with the UK Government and other partners, including the UK National Cyber Security Centre, in staying vigilant against any direct threats that Russia might present to Scotland, for example through cyberattacks. The National Cyber Security Centre is closely monitoring the threat to the UK as a priority and, in recent weeks, in addition to receiving briefings from the national security adviser, I have participated in four-nations discussions on how we deal with a range of domestic impacts that we might experience.

The crisis is fundamentally about Russian aggression against Ukraine but there is also a far wider international and moral dimension to it. Putin wants to dismember—essentially, to obliterate—Ukraine as an independent democratic nation. If he is allowed to get away with his aggression, the international community will have failed and that failure will give encouragement to other countries and other so-called strongman leaders who consider acts of aggression in future.

Therefore, the crisis is a test for all nations. It is a test of how prepared we are to support not just the principle but the reality of an international order based on law, rules and peaceful coexistence. It is a test of how prepared we are to protect freedom, peace and democracy. All of us must speak out against Putin’s aggression and stand up for the values of democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity and peace. We must do so first and foremost as the best chance of deterring aggression against Ukraine and standing in solidarity with its people but we must do it also for the sake of other countries across the world and for the sake of our world.

We must not accept this as a moment that bloody and prolonged war returns to our continent. Today, Parliament can add Scotland’s voice to all of those that are now standing up for peace, freedom and democracy. We can add this Parliament’s and Scotland’s voice to the voice of all those who stand with the people of Ukraine in this darkest of hours. For that reason, with a sombre sense but with pride, I will move the motion in my name and I urge all members to support it with one voice.

I move,

That the Parliament offers its unqualified support for Ukrainian sovereignty, democracy, independence and territorial integrity; condemns unreservedly Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty by recognising the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, and expresses its concern at the disturbing reports of Russian forces beginning a further invasion of Ukraine’s territory, in flagrant violation of international law; acknowledges the response to date of the international community in applying sanctions against the Russian regime and calls on it to redouble such efforts to discourage Russia from further aggression; further acknowledges the limited sanctions announced by the UK Prime Minister and urges that these should go further as soon as possible, with severe sanctions imposed upon Putin’s regime, his oligarch backers and their assets globally; supports efforts to deter Russia from further aggression and efforts to require Russia to reverse its illegal and provocative actions; records its concern about the grave threat to the safety and security of Ukrainian citizens; stands in solidarity with the people, Government and Parliament of Ukraine, and Scotland’s Ukrainian community, and stands ready to support them in any way Scotland can.