UK Politics

Sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine will make the domestic cost-of-living crisis worse, a cabinet minister has admitted.Liz Truss said Britain must be prepared to take an “economic hit”, but insisted it would be “far worse” to allow Vladimir Putin to succeed in his military offensive in Ukraine.As pressure builds for further sanctions against the Kremlin, the foreign secretary said the UK government is drawing up a “hit list” of oligarchs whose property and assets would be targeted.Earlier this week, No 10 imposed asset freezes on several Russian banks, airlines, billionaires associated with the Kremlin and said sanctions would personally target the Russian president.Over the weekend the US, UK and the EU also agreed to ban “selected” Russian banks from the global payments system SWIFT that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world.“We are taking apart every bit of the Russian system,” Ms Truss told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.But asked about the domestic toll and whether the cost of living would rise even more, the cabinet minister replied: “That is correct. That is correct.“But the pain that we will face in the United Kingdom is nothing like the pain people in Ukraine are currently facing.”She added: “They are having to take up arms in the face of an appalling dictator using untold weapons on their country and that is what we have to remember.“We aren’t just fighting for the people of Ukraine and the sovereignty of Ukraine, we’re fighting for freedom and democracy and that has a very high cost for us.“It is right that we are prepared to take an economic hit because the alternative of allowing Putin to succeed will be far worse for peace and democracy across Europe”. More

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has said she would “absolutely” support individual Brits going to fight Russian forces in Ukraine, insisting: “People can make their own decisions”.It comes after the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, pledged to arm the country’s international “friends” who choose to travel to the country and help defend against the Kremlin’s advances.Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba added: “Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries.”Asked whether she would support the call, Ms Truss told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: “I do support that. Of course that is something that people can make their own decisions about.“The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy — not just for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe because that is what president Putin is challenging”.The cabinet minister added: “Absolutely if people want to support that struggle, I would support them doing that”.While the UK government has ruled out sending British troops to the region, she added ministers were doing “all we can” to supply defensive weapons to the Eastern European country.Giving an update on the situation in Ukraine, the cabinet minister earlier insisted that the Ukrainian resistance had been “unexpected” by Moscow, but warned the conflict could drag on for years.“I fear this this will be a long-haul. This could be a number of years,” she said.“What we do know is Russia have strong forces, but we know the Ukrainians are brave, they are determined to stand up for their sovereignty.”Earlier, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said he believed his country will hold out out for “as long as needed” and said the “whole nation” was against Russia.“We’re holding. It’s been just four days. I believe that we’ll hold as long as needed,” he added, insisting that the Kremlin had “miscalculated” with the invasion.“They came with 150,000 troops. It’s totally not enough,” the ambassador said.As the government also faces criticism over its failure to introduce a dedicated scheme for refugees from Ukraine and relax the visa requirement, Ms Truss also said ministers were “urgently look at what more we can do to facilitate that”.“It is a desperate situation,” she added. “We need to stop Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine. There are dire consequences if we don’t for freedom and democracy across Europe,” she said.“We will continue to tighten the ratchet on Vladimir Putin, to tighten the ratchet on the economy.” More

The UK needs to ditch bureaucracy and visa restrictions to provide sanctuary to Ukrainians fleeing their country under attack from Russia, senior Tory and Labour MPs have said. As the Kremlin wages war on their eastern European neighbour, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said it was “immoral” to apply usual visa restrictions to Ukranians escaping war. Priti Patel called her comments “appalling misinformation” and said “the facts” were in government guidance that she shared. The document showed a visa application fee is being waived for family members of Britons who live in Ukraine and Ukrainians in the UK are being given temporary concessions when their visa expires. According to the latest estimates from the UN refugee agency, almost 116,000 have fled their homes – predominately to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania – since Vladimir Putin declared war.Earlier this week The Independent reported that there is currently no safe and legal route for Ukrainians to travel directly from their country to the UK in order to seek asylum, unless they have close British relatives.A No 10 spokesperson said on Friday that troops had been deployed to help the humanitarian response in Poland and were “working incredibly closely with Ukraine’s neighbours” to help support those fleeing.But they would not be drawn on any further action when asked about safe and legal routes for those wanting to seek asylum in the UK.Posting on social media on Saturday, Conservative MP Julian Smith said ministers must “welcome” those who have been displaced, and “make it as easy as possible to be here”.“It’s really important that the United Kingdom makes an immediate open, welcoming & warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine.“Rip up the usual bureaucracy & let’s just say they are welcome & we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”Ms Cooper also tweeted on Saturday: “Ukraine is under fire. People are fleeing war. Yet Home Office still applies normal visa restrictions inc salaries, language, close relatives.”She said this “isn’t solidarity” with Ukraine but “immoral” and urged the government to “urgently provide simple sanctuary route to UK for Ukrainians who need our help”. The government told The Independent last week it had waived language requirements for dependents of British nationals.Speaking during a visit to Birmingham, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Britain should be prepared to take in Ukrainian refugees, saying the government has “got this one wrong” in continuing to apply existing visa rules.“We must help Ukrainian people looking for safety. That is what we have always done as a country in a moment like this,” he said.“The government has got this one wrong. They are applying the same rules as they had before.”He called for a “humanitarian approach” with “sanctuary for those who are fleeing from Russian aggression, fleeing from this invasion, fleeing for their lives”.It comes after a poll by YouGov – following the Russian invasion – found almost two-thirds of British people would support the introduction of a resettlement scheme for those fleeing Ukraine.Ms Cooper said the war was “already having devastating consequences”, adding: “The UK has a duty to work with our allies to provide humanitarian assistance and support to those fleeing this horrific situation.” More

A Labour MP has revealed that she received a death threat calling her “Putin’s whore” amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, said she has “no doubt” that the personal attack was the result of “misleading reports and press comments”. She said she had reported the death threat, which was “in an email filled with racist abuse”, to the police.In a statement, which Ms Sultana posted on Twitter, she said: “I am horrified at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I stand with the people of Ukraine and have unequivocally condemned Putin’s actions.”Ms Sultana was one of 11 Labour backbenchers who were ordered by party leadership to remove their names from a statement about the situation in Ukraine by the Stop the War coalition. The Stop the War statement, published last week, accused the UK government of “sabre-rattling” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It said: “We refute the idea that Nato is a defensive alliance, and believe its record in Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and Libya over the last generation, not to mention the US-British attack on Iraq, clearly proves otherwise”.Ms Sultana said that in the past week her views have been incorrectly reported in the media. She criticised a briefing from an “anonymous Labour source” to the media, which suggested “that Labour MPs were a “mouthpiece for the Kremlin”. “I must make clear at this stage that these accusations have crossed the line from false to dangerous,” Zarah Sultana added. Ms Sultana said that she had contacted the Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds, to emphasise the seriousness of “party sources” disseminating dangerous and irresponsible messages”.Following the publication of the Stop the War statement, a Labour spokesperson said: “The small number of Labour MPs that signed the Stop the War statement have now all withdrawn their names. “This shows Labour is under new managements. With Keir Starmer’s leadership there will never by any confusion about whose side Labour is on – Britain, Nato, freedom and democracy – and every Labour MP now understands that.” More

A Conservative MP has suggested that Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion could apply for the seasonal worker scheme in order to get into the UK. Kevin Foster, MP for Torbay, was replying to Labour’s shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard in an exchange on Twitter. Mr Pollard had raised concerns that Ukrainians fleeing the conflict still have to apply for a visa to enter the UK, something other countries – such as Ireland and Portugal – have waived in response to the invasion. He wrote: “I’m looking for a route for people fleeing Ukraine who might not have a family link in the UK. We have a moral obligation to help them. Will you now change policy to do exactly that?”Follow the latest in our Ukraine war live blog hereConservative MP Kevin Foster then replied, in a now-deleted tweet, saying: “As you will be well aware there are a number of routes, not least our seasonal worker scheme you will recall from your Shadow Defra days, which Ukrainians can qualify for, alongside the family route for those with relatives here.”Kevin Foster MP has now replaced his previous message with the simpler: “Hi Luke. It’s just one of several routes and we will do more as the PM has made clear.”The tweet, which Mr Foster has now taken down, was widely criticised on social media, with Labour and Co-op MP for Leeds, Alex Sobel, replying: “Kevin this is beneath you. I hope you can apologise to the people of Ukraine fleeing for their lives and join the voices calling for the UK to match what our European friends are offering the oppressed masses of Ukraine.” More

Boris Johnson speaks Russian in address to its citizens amid Ukraine’s invasionVladimir Putin has been met with “greater Ukrainian resistance” than he expected, Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky agreed in a call today.Downing Street said the prime minister paid tribute to the “incredible heroism and bravery” of Ukraine’s leader and its people as the pair “agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially”,The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Russian advance had “temporarily slowed” in part due to resistance from Ukrainian forces.Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Johnson for the UK’s pledge to continue to supply arms to Ukraine’s military. Britain has already sent 2,000 anti-tank missile launchers and was looking to get more weaponry to the country, UK armed forces minister James Heappey said.“We know what the Ukrainians want. We are doing our best to get it to them,” he told Sky News.Meanwhile, British sea, land and air forces were deployed to reinforce Nato’s defences on its eastern flank. Troops are set to arrive in Estonia in the coming days, the MoD said.Show latest update

1645914772‘Very grim days ahead for Ukraine,’ warns JohnsonSpeaking at RAF Brize Norton, Boris Johnson said: “Let’s be in no doubt, things are not going all the way of President Putin, very far from it.“The Ukrainians are fighting heroically, and in some places with great success, as many of us thought they would because they’re a great country and a very brave country.“But as you rightly point out, there are some terrible atrocities being committed and there will be some very grim days ahead for Ukraine.“We’ve got to do everything we can to change the heavy odds that Ukraine faces and to help them, and so that’s why we’re sending humanitarian supplies, we’re sending financial supplies and military supplies as well.“The UK was the first European country to send military aid to Ukraine. Last night, many other countries joined in sending, in pledging to send military assistance, you’re starting to see that grow.”Tom Batchelor26 February 2022 22:321645911016Queen postpones reception at Windsor Castle next weekThe Queen has postponed a diplomatic reception at Windsor that was due to be held on Wednesday.Buckingham Palace said Her Majesty had accepted the foreign secretary’s advice to delay the event, which would have seen her meet hundreds of members of the Diplomatic Corps.It is understood the postponement is because of the conflict in Ukraine.Liam James26 February 2022 21:301645907320Putin has met with ‘greater Ukrainian resistance’ than expected, say Boris Johnson and ZelenskyDowning Street said Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky “agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially” in their call today.In a statement, No 10 said: “The prime minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy this evening.“He paid tribute to the incredible heroism and bravery of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.“The leaders agreed that President Putin is being met with a greater Ukrainian resistance than he calculated on.“The prime minister updated on the UK’s support to Ukraine and the progress rallying international partners to hold Russia to account for their campaign of destruction.“The leaders agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially. They welcomed the increased willingness to take action on excluding Russia from SWIFT.“The prime minister and President Zelenskyy expressed their mutual concern about the role Belarus is playing as a conduit for President Putin’s violence. ”Liam James26 February 2022 20:281645906212Volodymyr Zelensky ‘grateful’ to Boris Johnson for armsUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that he and Boris Johnson spoke on the phone today.In a tweet, he said: “I talked on the phone with @BorisJohnson. “I am grateful to the British Prime Minister for his position, new decisions to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian army. Agreed on further joint steps to counter the aggressor.”The UK today announced it would send more weapons to Ukraine as Kyiv battles against a Russian insurgence. More British troops were also set to bolster Nato’s eastern flank in Estonia.Liam James26 February 2022 20:101645905599Boris Johnson tells Zelensky: ‘Swift ban coming soon’ — PestonThread here from ITV’s Robert Peston on a call between Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the barring of Russia from the Swift global payments scheme.The EU has been discussing the potential sanction in recent days. Germany and Hungary were holding out against it but Hungarian president Viktor Orban earlier signalled he would be willing to support the ban in the name of European unity.Liam James26 February 2022 19:591645903822Priti Patel and David Lammy clash on Twitter over visa rulesHome secretary Priti Patel admonished David Lammy on Twitter for what she called “appalling misinformation” on UK visa rules for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian assault on their country. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary said it was “totally immoral” for the Home Office to apply normal visa rules to Ukrainian citizens during the invasion.But Ms Patel said this was “simply untrue”. Shortly after their spat, the Home Office replied with a list of visa rules to a tweet from Andrew Neil that signalled agreement with Mr Lammy.The UK has stopped accepting visa applications from Ukrainians stuck in the country, meaning there is no safe and legal route for them to seek asylum in Britain unless they have British relatives.Ukrainians must reach a neighbouring country in order to apply for a visa for Britain.Ms Patel has announced visa concessions for Ukrainians who are already in Britain for work, study or tourism, extending the time period before they must leave the country.But there has been no announcement of a resettlement scheme or other measures in response to an expected exodus of refugees, despite offers of help from numerous other countries.Liam James26 February 2022 19:301645902486Breaking: Roman Abromavich hands over stewardship of Chelsea FC Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has handed over the reins of the Stamford Bridge side to the club’s foundation.MPs this week called on the government to impose sanctions on the Russian national over his links to the government in Moscow.We will bring you more on this as we hear it:Liam James26 February 2022 19:081645901802Russia moves weapons capable of inflicting mass casualties into position, claim intelligence officialsLatest dispatch from Kim Sengupta in Kyiv:Russian forces attempting to storm Kyiv and other main cities are being reinforced after meeting fierce resistance with large numbers of troops and heavy weaponry capable of inflicting massive casualties, according to Western intelligence analysts.The Ukrainian capital is said to be the destination for two Russian armies – the 41st Combined Arms Army (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army – as part of an encirclement operation from three sides with a fourth one being considered.Western officials have expressed deep concern that frustration at a long delay in capturing Kyiv may lead to Vladimir Putin ordering the use of weapons capable of causing huge loss of lives including thermobaric missiles.Liam James26 February 2022 18:561645901114Prince William and Kate Middleton ‘stand with people of Ukraine’ amid Russian invasionPrince William and Kate Middleton have said they “stand with Ukraine’s people” following the Russian invasion.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sent a message showing solidarity with Ukranians from their official social media account on Saturday.“In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine’s future,” the royal couple said.“Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future.”They signed off with an emoji of the Ukranian flag and “W & C”.Liam James26 February 2022 18:451645899614Starmer says oligarch sanctions could be passed ‘very, very quickly’Sir Keir Starmer urged the government to come forward with legislation to expose Russian oligrachs who hide their wealth by buying up property in the UK as quickly as possible.Announcing the UK sanctions package in the Commons on Thursday, Boris Johnson said ministers would set out measures before Easter for a register of overseas property ownership.Following reports that the government was preparing to fasttrack the legislation, Sir Keir said Labour would support such a move.“The government says it is bringing forward primary legislation. My message to them is ‘Get on with it’. We will fully support it,” he in a pooled clip for broadcasters during a visit to Birmingham.“It can go through Parliament very, very quickly. We have been calling for this legislation to break open companies to see who the real beneficiaries are for years.“This will now go through because we will support it but it won’t be enforced for months to come so I am frustrated that it has taken this long for the government to come forward.”Liam James26 February 2022 18:20 More

Boris Johnson will “imminently” impose sanctions directly targeting Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in response to the Ukraine invasion, No 10 has announced.It comes after the UK government imposed asset freezes on Russian banks, airlines and oligarchs close to the Kremlin on Thursday in response to military offensive in the eastern European country.After a call with Nato leaders to discuss the latest situation, a Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister told members that Putin was “engaging in a revanchist mission to over-turn post-Cold War order”.“He warned the group that the Russian president’s ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences,” No 10 said.Stepping up UK sanctions – after the latest tranche was announced on Thursday – the spokesperson said Mr Johnson would “introduce sanctions against president Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov imminently”.EU states agreed to freeze any European assets of Putin and Lavrov on Friday, after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for more forceful action to punish back against Russia’s invasion.“It’s a politically important signal,” a senior EU diplomat told Reuters, referring to the decision to target the Kremlin’s senior figures.One EU official said that the latest round of sanctions would be followed by another that may target “many more” Russian oligarchs. “We are moving as quickly as we can,” the official said.It comes as foreign secretary Liz Truss told MPs that government moves to sanction Russian oligarchs are being “held up” by law firms based on London, according to a senior backbencher.Labour MP Ben Bradshaw revealed details from a briefing to parliamentarians on Friday, as the government comes under pressure to hit more kleptocrats with links to Putin’s regime.Mr Bradshaw told The Independent: “She was talking about why we weren’t going faster on sanctioning some of these people.”He added: “She explained that they had to make certain their actions were legally watertight, because of the litigiousness of the London law firms representing these men.”The former Labour minister said it was time for the government to “name and shame” British law firms acting on behalf of oligarchs being targeted for sanctions.“It’s absolutely outrageous – the British public have a right to know which legal firms based here in London are trying to prevent the sanctioning of Putin’s cronies,” said Mr Bradshaw. More

Ukrainian military forces are continuing to offer “strong resistance” to Russian forces attempting to seize cities on the second day of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, according to Western sources.Russian tank units which have entered Ukraine from multiple directions appear to be attempting to encircle capital Kyiv, and there are fears that a bloody and protracted battle for the city may develop with use of indiscriminate violence from the invading forces.After vilification of leading figures of the Ukrainian government as “Nazis” by the Russian president, there is grave concern that individuals such as Volodymyr Zelensky are now targets for special forces infiltrating the city.There are indications of the continued operation of Ukrainian air defences against Russian jets, in a sign that Putin’s key objective of obtaining total dominance of the skies on day one has failed.Western officials are increasingly confident that the Russian mission is falling behind on its timetable for the invasion, with Putin’s forces still confined largely to rural areas while Ukraine concentrates its troops in urban areas in order to mount a determined defence against the expected assault.But there are concerns that if they find themselves frustrated in their efforts to swiftly overwhelm the cities, invading force commanders may resort to indiscriminate use of artillery or “thermobaric” high-temperature weapons with the potential for mass civilian casualties.The UK’s chief of defence intelligence Lt-Gen James Hockenhull told reporters: “Russian forces continue to advance on two axes towards Kyiv. Their objective is to encircle the capital, to secure control of the population and change the regime.“Russia continues to conduct strikes across Ukraine. Overnight, Russia launched a concerted series of strikes on targets in Kyiv. Rocket launchers have been employed in Chernihiv and Kharkiv.“Ukrainian armed forces continue to offer strong resistance focusing on the defence of key cities throughout Ukraine.”As the second day of the invasion drew to an end, Ukrainian forces retain control of all the country’s major cities. While Russian forces progress towards Kyiv from the north and east, key Hostomel airfield north of the capital has changed hands several times over the past 36 hours amid significant fighting.The bulk of the invading force is still around 50km away from Kyiv, but there have been some reports of clashes in the northern suburbs as well as indications that Russian special forces and saboteur units are engaging with Ukrainian troops in the outskirts of the city. So far, it has appeared that Russian troops are reluctant to leave their armoured vehicles to engage in “unmounted infantry” fighting which would leave them more vulnerable to Ukrainian troops.Ukrainian forces have mounted delaying operations both by engaging with the Russian columns and by blowing up bridges on key routes through the country.Fighting has been reported along the “line of contact” marking the borders of rebel-held breakaway republics in the eastern Donbass region, as well as around the city of Kherson and the Black Sea port of Mariupol, which is reported to have seen amphibious landings by Russian troops.Russian forces which entered Ukraine from occupied Crimea to the south are moving northwards towards Melitapol with a view to link up with troops pushing in from the east.One Western official said that Ukrainian resistance had been stiffened by the unity shown by the country’s political and financial elites.“It’s notable that we’ve seen a real strengthening of Ukrainian political unity and seen that the political system and the individuals of high net wealth have come together,” said the official. “That unity is undoubtedly helping in terms of keeping the focus on the Ukrainian military seeking to offer that strong resistance, which they’re able to do in some of those key cities at the moment.”The official said it was increasingly apparent that the invasion was not proceeding according to the plans laid down by Putin, who was expecting a swift and relatively bloodless victory.“From our understanding of Russia’s plans, it’s clear that their intent certainly was, in their planning, to move as quickly as they possibly could,” said the official.“The conflict in in the Ukraine is the choice of President Putin. It was his choice to do this. The problem now is that having committed himself in the way that he has, this is now not a war of choice for him, but a war of necessity. “He will see this as that he must win this conflict. And my fear is that in order to win that conflict, he would resort to any means necessary with the force he has assembled in the Ukraine. “And if we do end up with significant urban fighting, then I have a significant concern for the way in which Russia would use sort of indiscriminate force.” More