podcasts. >> i would like to point out the british sign language interpretation proceedings is available.

i spoke to president zelensky and i assured him that the unwavering support of the united kingdom. i tell the house that at this stage, ukrainians are operating a fierce defense of their families and country. i know every member will share my admiration for their resolve. earlier today, president putin delivered another televised address and offered the absurd pretext that he sought the de

nazification of ukraine. in fact, he is hurling the might of his military machine against a free and peaceful neighbor in breach of his own explicit pledge by every principle of civilized behavior between states. spurning the best efforts of this country and our allies to avoiding bloodshed. for this, putin will stand condemned in the eyes of the world and history. he will never be able to cleanse the blood of from his hands and although the bouquet and our allies tried every avenue for diplomacy until the final hour, i am driven to conclude that putin was always determined to attack his neighbor. no matter what we did. now we see him for what he is, a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest. i am proud that britain did

everything in our power to help ukraine prepare for this onslaught and do our utmost to offer more help. our in this he took-- our embassy took precautions, where our ambassador continues to work with the ukrainian authorities and to support british nationals. now we have a clear mission, diplomatically, politically, economically, and eventually militarily. this hideous and barbarous venture of vladimir putin must end in failure. at the g7 meeting this afternoon we agreed to maximize the economic price that putin will pay for his aggression. this must include ending europe's collective dependence

on russia oil and gas. i welcome the decision to halt the certification of nord stream two. now engage in maximizing economic pressure. for our part today, the u.k. is announcing the most severe package of economic sanctions that russia has ever seen. with new financial measures, we are taking new powers to target russian finance in addition to the banks we already sanctioned this week in concert with the u.s.. we are imposing a full asset freeze on vtb. these powers will enable us totally to exclude russian banks from the u.k. financial system. stopping them from accessing

sterling and clearing payments through the u.k. with around half of russia's trade in u.s. dollars and sterling, the u.s. is taking similar measures. these powers will also enable us to ban russian state and private companies from raising funds in the u.k., banning dealing with their securities and making loans to them. we will limit the amount of money russian nationals can deposit in u.k. bank accounts. sentience will be applied to belarus for its role in the assault on ukraine. overall we will be imposing asset freezes on more than 100 new entities and individuals on top of the hundreds we already announced. this includes the major manufacturers that support putin's war machine. we are also banning aeroflot

from the u.k. next, on top of these financial measures and in full concert with the u.s. and eu, we will introduce new trade restrictions and stringent export controls similar to those that the u.s. aren't lamenting. we will bring forward new legislation to ban the export of all dual use items to russia, including a range of high-end technological equipment in sectors including electronics , telecommunications, and aerospace. legislation to implement will be early next week. the sanctions will constrain russia's military and industrial for years to come. were bringing forth measures from the economic crime bill to be introduced before the house

rises for easter and we will set out further details on the range of policies to be included in the full bill in the next session >> we will set up furthel by easter on a range of policies to be included in the full bill including on reforms and register of overseas of property ownership. here it we will set up a new cell to target sanctions of asia and corrupt russian assets hidden and u.k.. that means oligarchs will have nowhere to hide. mr. speaker, i know that this house will have great interest in the potential of cutting russia out from swift and, i can

confirm as i have always said, nothing is off the table. for all of these measures to be successful. it is vital

>> however long it takes, that will be the steadfast and unflinching goal of the united kingdom. certain that together we have the power and the will to defend the cause of peace and justice as we have always done. i say to the people of russia again this president has just authorized and on thought -- onslaught against the people, i cannot believe that this horror is being done in your name or that you really want the pariah status that these actions will bring to the putin regime. and two-putt -- to our ukrainian friends in your moment of agony, i say that we are with you and we are on your side. your right to choose your own destiny is a right that the united kingdom and our allies

will always defend, and in that spirit, i join you in saying -- i commend the statement to the house. >> in this dark hour, our thoughts and solidarity are now with the ukrainian people troops march through their streets, they've been cast into a war through no fault of their own because putin fears their freedom. because he knows that no people will choose to live under his rule unless forced to do so at the barrel of a gun. the consequences of putin's war of aggression will be horrendous and tragic for the people of ukraine, but also for the

russian people who've been plunged into chaos by a violent elite who have stolen their wealth, stolen their chance of democracy and stolen their future. we must prepare ourselves for difficulties here. we will face economic challenges as we freed arab from russian gas and oil and clean-air institutions from money stolen from the russian people. but the british public have always been willing to make sacrifice for democracy on our continent, and we will again. the consequences of putin's actions will be felt throughout the world for years, and i fear for decades to come. russia's democratic neighbors and every other democracy that

lives in the shallow of the autocratic dutch shadow of the arctic power are watching their worst nightmare unfold. all of us who believe in democracy over dictatorship. in freedom over the jackbooted of tyranny, we must unite and take a stand. we must support the ukrainian people in their site and we must ensure that putin fails. putin will eventually learn the same lesson that european tyrants learned in the last century, that the resolve of the world is harder than he imagined . the people's desire for freedom was further than he could ever extinguish the extinction and at the light of liberty will perfect -- extinguish and that the light of liberty will prevail over darkness. for that to happen, we must make

a clean break with the failed approach to handling putin, which after torture, crimea and donbas has fed his belief that this is out we the cost. we must showing the duchy is wrong. that means providing weapons, equipment and financial assistance as well as humanitarian support for the ukrainian people. we must urgently reinforce and reassure our nato allies in eastern europe who now stand at the frontier of putin's aggression. the hardest possible sanctions must be taken against the putin regime. it must be isolated. it's finances frozen. its ability to function crippled. that means excluding russia from the financial mechanisms and

banning trade in russian sovereign debt. i welcome the set of sanctions outlined by the prime ministers is now. and there is support for further measures. there are changes we must make here in the u.k.. for too long, our country has been a safe haven for the money that putin and his fellow bandits stole from the russian people. it must now change. cracking open the show companies will require legislation to bring it forward immediately, premised or, and -- prime minister, and labour will support it. mr. speaker, this must be a turning point in history. we must look back and say that this terrible day was actually when putin doomed himself and

doomed his plan to reassert russian force as a means of controlling eastern europe to defeat. we know how he operates, so we know how to feed him. he six division, so we must stand united. he hopes for an action, so we must take a stand. he believes that we are too corrupted to do the right thing, so we must prove him wrong. i believe we can. and in this dark hour, we can step toward the light. thank you, mr. speaker. >> i want to say how grateful i am to the right honorable gentlemen for the terms in which he has just spoken and the robust support he is offering to the government and to the western alliance, mr. speaker, at a very difficult time.

and i think the whole house can be turning to some of the issues that he raised, the whole house can be proud of the role that the u.k. has played in pioneering military support, logistical support and trainings, the role that we played in reading together a ferocious package of sanctions which we will now implement, and we will bring our allies together. to protect nato, to show the president putin will get a western alliance -- a tougher western alliance, not a weaker one. and events will show that the russian president has profoundly miss calculated. he believes he is doing this for his own political advantage. i believe the exact opposite will prove to be the case because of the resistance that will be mounted against what he is doing, not just in ukraine around the world. and we will support those ukrainians, mr. speaker. we will support them

economically, diplomatically, politically and yes, militarily as well and i know that in due time, we will succeed. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i welcome my right honorable friend? this house and this country are united in our defense of democracy and our support for the ukrainian people. vladimir putin has initiated war in mainland europe. the response must be unequivocal and absolutely clear. so the government is putting in place every possible economic sanction so that russia feels absolutely the cold wind of isolation, and the russian people understand that putin has brought their state to a pariah state. >> prime minister, i think my

friend as she is right about what the government is setting out to do. and i do believe that will be the result of putin and his cronies. >> mr. speaker, let me -- an advance copy of the statement, and let me also welcome the contact he has kept with the ukrainian president importantly overnight. i was grateful that i had the chance to meet this afternoon with the ukrainian ambassador to the u.k. and the ukrainian mp. our support is very much with each and every one of them as it is with all the people. mr. speaker, although last night's have impressive eyes -- prophesized for sometimes, the actions are no less shocking. what we are witnessing is a full-scale invasion.

this is an act of war. this is first and foremost an unprovoked attack on the peace and innocence of ukraine, but it is equally an attack on international law, an attack on our european democracy, an attack on the peace that our continent has so carefully built over the last 75 years. president putin and president putin alone bear responsibility for these, and it is he and his kremlin cabal who must pay a massive price for that action. it is important to say to the russian people that we know that putin is not acting in their name. he is an imperialist. he is a tyrant. he is as much a threat to his own people as he is to all of us. mr. speaker, miss is the moment

for unity, -- this is the moment for unity and especially for european unity. all of the economic sanctions that are now being implement it have one clear objective, the complete economic isolation of the russian state. can the prime minister confirmed that this is the objective, and that he leads that with his international allies? that economic isolation must include sanctions on putin and his network of oligarchs and dutch sections on his banks, the ability to borrow and function and sanctions on his energy and mineral companies. and as i said yesterday, and must finally mean cleaning up the dirty russian money that has been running through the city of london for years. and i know all of publications involved, but can i ask the prime minister that the actions,

one of the steps that would hit the putin regime the hardest, but just as we rightly seek to punish putin, we must redouble our support for the ukrainian people. in the prime minister other details on the humanitarian aid the deployed and the plans and played -- placed and actions necessary to those who have been displaced. and the families of u.k. citizens -- mr. speaker, let us not fall for the kremlin propaganda that they are prepared to soak up any sanctions. if the sanctions are targeted enough, swift enough, severe enough, if we impose nothing less than economic isolation, putin and his cronies will suffer the consequences of their actions. so let us act together, stand together, and most of all, let us stand with the people of

ukraine. >> mr. speaker, can i thank you again the honorable gentlemen for the wisdom and statesmanship with which he has just spoken. and in particular, we put 1000 troops on standby to help with the humanitarian efforts in adjacent countries, we have people present in adjacent countries to help you can nationals come out and he is quite right, mr. speaker. the way to make the sections work as we discussed today in the g7 where there is a great deal of unity is that we do them together and we do them at the same time, that is what we are doing. >> these very important meetings dutch those colleagues who don't get them, we are trying to ensure that everyone does get the voice. you will have to sit down. it is an important matter.

-- >> thank you, mr. speaker. you tribute to my friend the prime minister and his government today for introducing what sounds like the proper sanctions we have seen in years. may i ask him, however, to look whiter than the russian people and to look at all of those who are enabling putin's economy, those who sit on board of the businesses that finance and, whether they are former chancellors of germany or former prime ministers of france. now i ask him to look here, close to home, at those who enable, propagate that pop again. that is being used by putin to undermine his own people and free people everywhere, and to update the treason act that we can identify them and call them what they are, traders. -- traitors. can i also ask the produced dust from and showing us what should, just when he speaks around the world, that he speaks with the truth he can in russian and stop

the start to broadcast in linkages other than russia and to russia so that russian people can know they don't need to side with a tyrant. >> mr. speaker, i think you, absolute right. >> we are looking at all sorts of ways to the state mr. speaker , and we are of course making sure that the messages from this house, which are so impressive in this unity, should be registered by the people of russia. because we mean no ill toward them. they are as much, in many ways the victims as the people of ukraine as -- of this appalling regime and they need to know what is really going on. >>'s or speaker, would the prime

minister tell us if you can what is going on with the russian troops going through for noble, -- true noble -- chernobyl, which sent a chill through people's thoughts when we heard about it. >> thank you, the house gives, donate, it seems fluid, but to the best my knowledge he is right. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the best part of 50 years, written sanctuary to the government's in exile of the occupied baltic state. if as appears likely, ukraine gets overwhelmed, will be offered to give sanctuary to a government in exile pending ukraine's future freedom? >> of course, mr. speaker.

we will give all support that we can, logistical or otherwise, as britain always has to governments in exile. and as the point i made to president zelensky this morning, it might be necessary for him to find a safe place for him and his cabinet to go. >> speaker, with -- was president putin responsible for this -- with prison put a response over this tragedy, we will send with people of ukraine and i think the premise of her is david's. today must be a wake-up call. the west has been too complacent over putin's threats for too long. we have taken for granted our fragile alliances, so crucial for the sense of freedom, involving putin. this outrageous act of aggression, the west cannot be complacent any longer. so will the government reverse its proposed troops to the british army and offer greater

military support to our nato allies in eastern europe? mr. speaker, putin must face the most punitive of sanctions, the world must isolate russia like the rogue state it is, including the state 20% owned by the p. will the prime ministers commit to banish u.k. support of russian oil and gas companies with immediate effect? cracks on his point about investment in russian oil and gas, as i said, we must move away from all of our dependencies on russian oil and gas. that is the objection of the u.k. government. we are lucky that some of our gas comes from russia, other areas are animal much more support -- exposed position. on the point about supporting

eastern europeans, we have doubled our commitment to estonia, we have bigger in poland and we are in the skies above romania. i do believe there is another country in nato that is currently -- no other country in nato that is doing more to strengthen this. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my contingency has connections with ukraine so i welcome this robust approach. my constituency has also seen significant property investment by russian investors. can i urge my right and honorable friend to accelerate the introduction of a register of official ownership of property? >> she is complete we write. we need to stop the facade of the shell companies as we can see who owes the property concerns.

>> it is because john stuart mill was right when he warned that bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on a do nothing, that the whole house will support the measure of the prime minster has just announced. in a statement, he says this is clear medically, and militarily. what did he mean by militarily? what was he referring to providing further weapons for ukraine to defend itself? >> i don't want to go into detail because it is a sensitive and difficult business, but yes, mr. speaker, we have done. continue to do so and i believe i have the support of the house in intending to continue to do so. cracks indeed mr. speaker, i think the minister for his words

and the commitment to the economic crime bill and in relation to that, will there be a foreign lobbying bill? will there be amendment to the data protection act to stop unscrupulous people offering services to autocrats -- oligarchs and plutocrats, and will it be funded as is suggested so it will be able to take them on and the oligarchs? >> i'm grateful, as i said in my opening statements, we are setting up a new combating autocracy to target the individuals he mentioned. >> let us be under no illusion, we are on the brink of a potentially enormous humanitarian crisis >> inc. and .

let us be under no illusion, we are on the brink of a potentially enormous humanitarian crisis i can see our normans loss of life. the attack on ukraine is also likely to cause mass displacement of people, potentially triggering a significant refugee crisis in europe. can the prime minister tell us what he is doing to support the ukrainian people loose day added those who choose to flee? >> she makes a very important point. the humanitarian impact threatens to be enormous and that is why said what i said about supporting those refugees as they come out of ukraine. we have got to make sure we do everything we can to stabilize the ukrainian economy and to support the government as far as

we possibly can. that is why yesterday, we announced of $500 million extra packaging development on top of the 100 million pounds on top of what we have given. >> does the prime minister agree of the charter of 1940 one has been the most successful in the history of freedom and democracy and as one of the architects of that order, we have a special responsibility to defend it. while today's sanctions are welcomed, it cannot just be economic measures,. we need a fundamental review of our military capability. >> the integrated review begins with the assertion that the most important -- as i believe i said

on tuesday, that remains fundamental. that is why we have continued with the investment that we have in nato, where the second-biggest funder of nato is the honorable. he is right. he is right in what he says is what is at stake. it is about a whole idea of that wonderful thing that was so inspiring for some of us when we were young. our europe holding free, that fantastic revolution that happened in 1989 and 1990 one communism fell. it was a great moment for humanity. we must not allow its to slip through our fingers. >> i would like to say that on behalf of the people of norwich, we have solidarity with the people of ukraine. of the warmer words will not

defend ukrainian people. -- the warmer words will not defend ukrainian people. i have been talking with people who have been fighting privatization and wave -- wage cuts. they will not run from their homes. those people need to be able to defend themselves. i support the prime minister's assertion that we will be providing more capabilities for about an. let me say one thing, will you agree that we must have an end to this by a negotiated settlement and not by an initiation of military means. >> everybody in the world will want president putin to choose the path of negotiation. he had that moment. that is why we had about discussion any of this house on tuesday about that perilous moment which we all discussed.

he had about opportunity. i am afraid he has missed it. he has chosen the path of overwhelming violence and destruction. i am afraid that puts us on a different course and we have to accept that reality. >> everybody will wholeheartedly support the prime minister sanctions against all 140 russian oligarchs that support putin and major banks. the prime minister's supported -- and he is right, they have broken international criminal law on a major scale. can we actually implement our view of the state by ensuring that everybody involved in that decision, if they leave russia, face international criminal sanctions wherever they go? >> that is exactly what we can now do thanks to the measures that this house is passed.

>> this morning we walked -- we woke to the worst possible news. i make no apology and hoping for a diplomatic solution. my party and i condemned the escalating russian aggression. this is a fluid at developing situation, but we are now in uncharted territory. i can update the house that one salmon calls in -- the house and once there have been calls in this place, negotiations have been happening in the background and i confirm that he has suspended broadcasting. we must prepare for the worst. i will ask the prime minister, what a strategy is bringing forward to increase the capacity of oil and gas and so we can support ourselves and you member states and protect our people -- and eu member states and protect

our people bowl from of further damage. >> i disagree with what he had to say about negotiating now. i do not think that option is open to us. we must do our best to support and protect the people of ukraine and working with our international friends and allies to constrict what vladimir putin can do. honest point about russia today, mr. speaker, i simply observed that the former leader -- i am so sorry -- his leader, i understand the please he entered in defense in mitigation, that do not seem to cut much ice. >> supreme lady. >> all stand.

[applause] [laughter] >> i strongly welcome the service center sanctions announced by the prime minister. we look forward to further steps being taken in the days ahead and not be held back by some of the slower moving members of the alliance in europe. doesn't prime minister agree that if sanctions are really two bites on cutin and his gangster government, inevitably it will mean cost to economic interest, but thought cost and inconvenience will be of nothing compared to what people of ukraine are going through. we stand with him this evening. > i am afraid, my honorable friend is right because it will mean cost and it will mean inconvenience, it will mean difficulty for us in the u.k.. that will be a price worth paying, mr. speaker, for

defeating the objectives of putin and assuring that aggression does not pay. >> cannot just follow up on the question from the honorable member from the isle of wight. i see from the prime minister on whether additional powers will be required and additional resources for them to do their work? >> i think you're very much. they will, will have plenty of existing statue for the additional powers that they have. among other things, they will have the ability to peel back the facade of ownership which i think will be extremely valuable. >> whilst this terrible incident is directly the cause of russia,

i think it is appropriate that we recognize that over the last 14 years, the u.k., the eu, the u.s. collectively have not attentive to russia in the way that we should. can my right honorable friend say that whatever happened in the past moving forward we will not let russia fall between our fingers again. >> i think the lesson of 2014 is not the whole of the west failed to respond in the way that we should. when it was invaded a part of the country was occupied, i'm afraid it was quite wrong that we tried to manage all the diplomatic processes that we did which produced absolutely nothing except this catastrophic invasion today. we have had a bitter lesson about how to deal with vladimir putin.

>> i agree with the prime minister that it seems like the curtain has come down on the air that became -- began in 1989. we have lived in an air of chains since then. this feels a commute era. the permissive environment that we created for the kremlin's quartermasters to live, invest, and party in london, sometimes of the prime minister himself, that must now come to an end. so let me ask the prime minister this, will you undertake to ensure that every visa issue to a russian dual national is now reviewed, and where proximity to president putin is proven, that citizenship should be stripped away? >> yes, we are doing that. it is worth the house

remembering the point i made every day. not every russian is about person. -- is a bad person. >> while i understand why it is not impossible to suspend russia from the swift payment system at this stage, what work are we doing with our european allies so eventually we could get to a position, because that is in a way that will isolate the russian economy. >> the biggest thing would be if everybody wants dark taking -- stock-taking russian [inaudible] swift is extremely important. it is about some company. where china make progress with our friends. for obvious reasons, it has to be done. >> mr. speaker, this morning i

spoke with friends in kyiv we were leaving the country. we have all seen the images of people trying to get out. i send my deepest thanks to the embassy team there. canasta prime minister about two areas of support for ukraine, economic support and continuing support for defensive capability. will both of those areas of support intensify and carry assure the house [inaudible] -- [inaudible] kenny assure the house that the government will continue the deepest possible conversations of the government in ukraine to ensure that, no matter the assault that comes from vladimir putin, we will be supporting them on a deeply meaningful -- >> the answer is certainly yes. for instance, just the other day, i was talking to two

british minesweepers. the question will be access. that is what it all depends on. >> it is crystal clear from this acts that cutin does not seek -- on his borders, does my friend agree with me that that does mean that we need to build upon the outcome of our integrated defense review. we need to think differently about eastern europe and at home , bringing home economic coin measures ursa consensus in the house second l allow us to bring forth emergency legislation to bring forth importance measures to people hard and hit them now. >> that is clearly the will of

the house and the will of the government. that is why will be -- we will be taking those important measures and bringing them forth on monday. >> my thoughts are with the ukrainian people at this time. while i welcome the sanctions the prime minister has announced today. can up at the house on whether he plans to sanction them major state on russian bank searches server bank and out for bank. thank you. >> yes. >> rare-earth air being said for their fellow countrymen. what are ukrainians in the u.k. have identified as being grateful for the military support that is already been forthcoming. there's an immediate need for medical battle supplies,

clothing for troops and camouflage gear appeared can the prime minister assure the house that they will be forthcoming. >> i think you're very much. he raises an important issue. we are working on exactly those supplies right now >> i think the prime minister for his statement. any given assurance that -- will target relatives and connected parties. you mention the economic crime bill. we have the review of the official secrets act. why can't we not bring them forward and do them now? we have few support and we have been waiting for some of these for nearly two years. i can tell him that we will certainly be making sure the we

are able to sanction and it sanction relatives and other interested parties. it will be a rolling program of intensifying sanctions. >> i am in no doubt that the signatories of the united states and the united kingdom on the budapest memorandum of given ukraine the confidence to give up its nuclear power. will our honorable friend support the united states in whatever lanes it is willing to go to stan with the united states in whatever military support it is willing to do in support of ukraine. >> he is right to remind the house of the 1994 budapest memorandum. at exactly about affect and creative obligation on us as one of the signatures. >> the prime minister will be aware that on the side of the

house, we are very keen on the sanctions. does he share with me the worry that the record of driving out the dictators and others will -- it is not always successful? does he share my concern that if we have read what putin has been saying these last three hours, he is a man that might not stop it ukraine. he may go into a nato country. are we playing that scenario? many of us think that might be my next step. >> he is absolutely right to raise and appalling possibility. it is vital that we reaffirm, again, that under article five of the nato treaty, we stand. where behind everyone of our nato allies and we will come to their defense. >> can i say, that with

ukrainian men and women dying to fight against the russians for their freedoms, those calling for negotiations can only -- they bish's sean appear -- they should be shunned. my ambassador for ukraine when asked desperately if nato will look at a no-fly zone. it is a difficult choice. can the prime minister stepped to the matchbox and says that he will not rule anything out. >> i know that my honorable friend is a great military expert and i understand the attractions of the no-fly zone. i remember the no-fly zone about was created in 1991. in northern iraq. the situation here is very different. we would face a risk of having to shoot down russian planes. that is something that i think

the house would want to contemplate with caution. >> in locking out russian state money, i hope the prime minister can give me reassurance that that will include overseas to lurch -- protests in a number of russian cities across russia at the moment and celebrities in russia have been speaking out. i hope that we will be offering all of the support we can to those people who are likely to be sean by the fascist/imperialist beijing. >> i can say that one of the reasons why i want to keep our fantastic british embassy staff in moscow, even though the temptation is to sunder into diplomatic relations, i want to keep them there and support groups, such as the one he mentions.

>> i have given evidence for war crime trials. it was a genocide and crimes against humanity, people were charged with. could i ask why the house and the right honorable friend, to agree with me that any russian who kills our ukrainian must remember that one day they may be brought to court for crimes against humanity or genocide. >> yes. not just any russian competent. anyone who sends a russian into battle to kill innocent ukrainians. >> president zelensky house called for the toughest possible sanctions. it must mean immediate peer in a statement, he talked about in the next session for the economic measures, including on

companies house and the register of overseas property ownership. he said something about bringing for -- which of these is it and if it is monday, will it have the same effect as it would require for that immediate action. >> we will be bringing a ford on monday mr. speaker appeared i am grateful for the support of the officer. we need -- of the opposition. we need to start cracking down on these individuals. >> paul house will walk the sanctions of the prime minister, but cannot race the question of football, much beloved to russian hearts, and ownership, property, shareholdings, and the future of russian clubs in international matches. >> he is right.

the russians attach a great deal of sentiment and important to football. they hope to have the championship final there. i cannot can see how i can currently go ahead. >> dinsmore on ukraine is brutal, illegal, and calculate calculated attack on peace and stability in europe. lieutenants and his cronies must pay for their actions. on a visit to ukraine, prime leaders spoke to ukrainian lewd leaders -- leaders, admiring people for ukrainian resilience. now they are in harm's way. while his government mobilizes a global effort to support and aid people sling this horrific conflict? >> again, i think you're very

much for her supports and her resolve, and i want to and ensure her we are working with our international friends to prepare for a humanitarian crisis. >> earlier this afternoon i have the opportunity to speak with a number of ukrainian mps who are calling for additional support. can i urge the prime minister to ensure we do all things that we can to ensure satellite phone so that they can communicate with us? >> she is absolutely right here there is a threat to communication already in work. the contacts that we are having with people in ukraine and satellite phones are an option and will -- and we will be looking at that. >> we have rightly heard a lot about to for trade sanctions

today, but nothing about ridding russian state influence from our democracy. will the prime minister i can te putting for progressively, in the last few days and weeks, and today, the biggest ever package to crack down on dirty russian money, not just russia but from anywhere. >> i welcome dissensions today.

>> the key thing is to get people to recognize the scale of their dependency. that is what we are doing. you can government has been making that whole point. and has gotten worse since 2014. what we are also doing is helping countries in the baltic states to go further and faster with renewable technology. >> i think everyone knows that ukraine is a major producer of grain. unfortunately, there will likely be consequences for many countries including our own. canasta prime minister to look again at our proposals and make sure we are secures and not reliant on what has happened in the past. >> he is absolutely right. it is an unfortunate consideration. one of the many things our ukrainian community. sector.

do you agree with me that western alliance -- reliance on oil and gas is been a major factor in emboldening pugin in the mistaken belief that he can invade his peaceful neighbor with relative impunity. shouldn't we refocus our energy policy on maximum -- maximizing the use on our own natural resources while we invest in low-carb and alternative. >> he is totally right. he is totally right when he talks about the excessive dependence on hydrocarbons. we are moving away from it in this country. i think there is an merits. he might be an agreement on this, there is a merit in the traditional facial continuing with the use of hydrocarbons in this country, rather than pointlessly importing them from abroad. >> put its imperial bloodlust

were nonstop. our commitment to ukrainian freedom, the prime minister knows there has been a phenomenal increase in russians summary activity. our cables carry more than 95% of western military, diplomatic, commercial, financial, and personal communications. the potential of these cables being weaponized is terrifying. this is a part of the ongoing dialogue? >> she is absolutely right. there is a continual struggle going on belief -- beneath the surface. she knows there is a struggle between submarines and sever cables, and in those of us tried to remain -- try to share about those links remain in a chain.

>> workarounds, i expect those crimes have already been committed against russian soldiers. can the prime minister join with this nato has us date and set out how workarounds will be prosecuted for all russian soldiers, field offices, generals, and politicians are brutally aware of where they will end up in a few years time. >> he is absolutely right. i think it very much. that is why we are working on setting up particular international war crimes tribunal for those involved in war crimes in the ukraine theater. forex -- >> president putin has been incredibly which. his personal wealth is up to

$200 billion. in the prime minister ensure that president putin pays a heavy price by targeting his own cash and assets. >> yes. absolutely. not just him, but as a house and served, as many of his and immediate cronies and family as we can hit. >> i think the prime minister for all that he is done. just before the state, expect some ukrainian protesters who are outside, one of them held back tears as she spoke about her mother in a house surrounded by ukrainian tanks. the members of the house is asking for a negotiated settlement. they want to live their lives is free and peaceful people. can the prime minister confirmed that he will do everything he can to an attorney of preterm and do everything you can to make sure they live as a peaceful and free people.

>> yes, i can confirm that. what i can also say is that i believe that by making this invasion, i think president putin has done more than anybody else to bring his resume to an end. in the end i think you will. huge price of what he has done. i know this house will want to make it certain. one of the tools he uses is through political donations to political parties, including in this country. will the prime minister commit today to ridding our democracy of russian money? p.m. johnson: yes, of course, mr. speaker. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. estonia, latvia, lithuania and poland triggered article 4 of the north atlantic treaty today, and i heard that we will be joining those discussions. can my right hon.

friend assure our nato allies in eastern europe that we stand firmly with them, particularly the baltic states that have significant russian populations? p.m. johnson: one of the first things we did was to strengthen our presence in estonia in the way i described, and why our canadian friends are strengthening their presence in latvia. we will make sure that we give the baltic states, which seceded from the soviet union to become free and independent in that amazing moment, all the security they deserve. >> think you, mr. speaker. there is overwhelming evidence that russian state actors have been involved in trying to disrupt and destabilise western democracies by using social media platforms such as facebook. what are the government doing to ensure such platforms are not used in these events?

p.m. johnson: as i said in an answer a couple of days ago, we have no evidence of disruption of uk elections or electoral events as a result of russian activity, but the online harms bill is there to provide such protections. >> can i thank my right hon. friend for his statement, and indeed thank the leader of her majesty's opposition for his supportive and moving words. but cannot also reinforce the point made by my hon. friend why has it come to this , pass? how has the west in general and the uk in particular been so asleep at the switch for such a long time? i commend the defence and security review, but is it not now time to ask what the permanent and impartial machinery of our government does in failing to provide ministers with consistent advice about the strategic threats that our country faces?

p.m. johnson: mr. speaker, there are all sorts of reasons for the failure of the west to take sufficient account of the threat of vladimir putin since 2014, but the two biggest are oil and gas. >> mr. speaker, with cyber-attacks and falsehoods, russia is peddling lies today. observers on the ground are crucial to relaying the truth. in recent weeks, the uk has withdrawn its team from the osce special monitoring mission because staff safety is key, but can the prime minister look again to support international efforts like this to get to the facts and counter russian disinformation? p.m. johnson: i thank the monitoring mission teams. they are wonderful. i have met them and they do a

fantastic job. i am sorry that they have had to be withdrawn, for the duty of care reasons that he rightly alludes to. we will keep that under constant review. >> the 1994 budapest memorandum saw ukraine give up its nuclear weapons in return for a security guarantee signed by not only britain and the united states, but by russia. does my right hon. friend believe that ukraine would have been invaded had it retained its nuclear weapons? what does that say about the value of a russian signature on any international agreement? p.m. johnson: it is clear that president putin sets no store by international law whatever and that is just one of the legal obligations that he has torn up. >> we awoke this morning to images of innocent families cowering in tube stations. we know the putin regime's propensity for oppression and tyranny, particularly when it comes to minorities. will the prime minister ensure that humanitarian aid is

delivered not just in consort with other international partners, but third sector organizations? p.m. johnson: yes, of course. the third sector plays an invaluable role. >> mr. speaker, i welcome the prime minister's statement and his specifically ruling out the threat of creeping normalization. this house should be in no doubt that putin is well prepared. he has hundreds of billions of foreign currency reserves and a military that has been tested. will the prime minister do everything he can to convert the current intent into frameworks that cement our intent over time, because putin is betting on the fact that it will not be? p.m. johnson: my hon. friend is absolutely right because the plan that the g7 has agreed on, and our friends and partners have agreed on, is that putin must fail. putin must not succeed in this venture. we have to put in place all the

steps we need to take, diplomatically, economically and, yes, militarily, in order to ensure that that is the case and that is what we are doing. >> the prime minister is right to have set out the most stringent possible set of sanctions against the government of russia. can he outline for the house what the implications will be for co-operation at the international space station? >> i thank him very much. we will have to see what further downstream effects there are on collaboration of all kinds. i must say that hitherto, i have been broadly in favor of continuing artistic and scientific collaboration, but in the current circumstances it is hard to see how even those can continue as normal. >> the mix of practice and principle is the test of

democratic politics, exemplified at its best when this house comes together in common cause. the test of leadership is the mix of vision and will, and the prime minister is to be commended for his wilful, clear-sighted determination. will he now reassure the house that he is in close touch with those countries close to ukraine, where nerves will be frayed? will he send them the urgent message that this house and this nation will always stand alongside and behind free nations? p.m. johnson: the gentleman is precisely right. that is why, together with my right hon. friends the secretary of state for defence and the foreign secretary, we have been visiting poland, romania, the baltics, all those who are now feeling such deep unease at what is happening. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

as we speak, the sovcomflot tanker ns challenger is berthed at sullom voe in shetland and taking on a load of crude oil for export. it is a company owned and operated by the russian government. my constituents are asking me why they should be loading oil on to a russian tanker while russian troops are marching into ukraine. i cannot think of any good answer to give them. can the prime minister tell me whether anything that he has announced today will ensure that that will not happen again? p.m. johnson: i will of course immediately investigate what is happening with the sovcomflot oil tanker. the result of the measures that the house passed the other day is that we can now target any entity, any company, that has

any relation with the russian state. we have that power. >> tyrants and megalomaniacs invade countries because they think they can get away with it. the way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them. i am sure he will acknowledge that the way the west responds to this aggression will have repercussions not just for russia and ukraine but for other bullies such as china. and will he be mindful of the need to show support to russia's smaller southerly neighbours, especially georgia and armenia, which feel particularly vulnerable at this time? p.m. johnson: yes, i thank him. he is right, because the reader cross, the knock on, is obvious for georgia and armenia. what putin proposes to create is a new sphere of influence, a new yalta, in which those countries come behind his new iron curtain. >> as a member of this house with ukrainian heritage, this issue particularly troubles me. i thank the prime minister for the tone of his statement and for not only the resolute and

swift action he proposes to tackle russia but the resolute and swift support that he is offering to the people of ukraine. during his speech, he also highlighted the cost of living and the rise in fuel prices. could he touch on what further action the government will take to address those issues? p.m. johnson: i thank him very much and he is quite right, because people throughout the country will be thinking about the effect on us all of the increase in the price of oil and gas as a result of a war in ukraine. we will continue to do everything we can to help people to abate the cost and to support people through councils and all the funds we are providing, such as for the reduction in council tax, mr. speaker but the best , thing we can do is to ensure people are in good, well-paying jobs, and in that we are certainly succeeding. in the medium and long term, we

we have got to have more self-reliance in this country on our own energy supplies. that is what this government are also committed to building. >> one of the most important economic sanctions we can take against russia is to freeze its sovereign debt. will my right hon. friend confirm that the bill proposed on monday on economic crime will include powers to do so? p.m. johnson: we are taking the most powerful measures against russia and the russian economy that have ever been taken, probably the most powerful ever taken by any country, and russia will no longer be able to raise any sovereign debt on uk markets. >> i'd like to ask the prime minister what support will we be providing to ukrainian citizens who are settled in the uk and wish to reunite with family members who still reside in ukraine?

many have watched their cities rapidly get caught up in this conflict and are keen to know what more we can do to support them to reunite with their families. p.m. johnson: we will make sure that we support ukrainian nationals who need to come to this country to meet their relatives, of course we will do that. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i am proud that the prime minister and this country are leading the international support for our friends in ukraine. domestically, will the prime minister be providing more support for our nhs, other public sector organisations and businesses that will now be the subject of russian cyber-attacks? p.m. johnson: he is right to point to that risk. it is foresighted of him. we are investing massively in cyber protection, i think

another 2.6 billion pounds we are putting in. in the past few years, we have tackled more than 3,000 cyber attacks. it is a risk, but a risk, i am afraid, that we must run in the cause of freedom. >> i offer my wholehearted support for much tougher sanctions against president putin and his dreadful regime. mr. speaker, as the honorable gentleman mentioned earlier, there are many historic ukrainian communities in great britain and northern ireland, and indeed i would like to commend the work of the reading ukrainian centre. what additional support can the government give to these very valuable community groups and centres around the country that offer such support to families, friends and relatives both in the uk and in ukraine? p.m. johnson: perhaps the most important thing that we can do for the ukrainian community in this country is thank them and recognise everything that they have done for us in the past decades. they have been an amazing addition to the uk, to the uk

economy and to our cultural and artistic life. >> the house is united in its condemnation, but i suggest to the prime minister that the lessons to be addressed from this affair started with russia's invasion of georgia in 2008, and not in 2014. many of us across the house have been warning about russia and yet the response has been weak. does the prime minister accept that, as we enter the battle for democracy globally, we must understand that the sooner that we square up to the playground bully the better and that must we adequately support our hard and soft power to do that? p.m. johnson: yes, he is quite right. i know that, by soft power, he is thinking also of the british council, which can have such a wonderful beneficial effect across russia.

i have seen its work across russia. but he is right about standing up to the playground bully. we should have done it ages ago. i think the scales have fallen from the eyes of many of our friends and partners. >> thanks very much, mr. speaker. in an earlier response, the prime minister suggested that this country would welcome people who were reuniting with family here. i have a constituent who is ukrainian but a british citizen. she is trying to bring her mother from ukraine, but has been turned down because she is over 18. her mother is on her own and has no family, so naturally she is frightened. will we see a change in the home office to enable british citizens who are ukrainian to bring their vulnerable family here? p.m. johnson: yes, i thank her very much. i think i read out a helpline number in the house on tuesday. i do not have it with me. there is a number both in lviv

and in this country, but if she could do me the favor and send me the details, i will take them up. >> i commend my right hon. friend and his ministers for the firm stance they are taking. none of us knows what mr putin's longer-term aims are. if ukraine falls, and i fear that it might, his covetous eye might land on the baltic states and other vulnerable countries. can my right hon. friend reassure nato members that if one russian boot lands on nato soil, military force will be met by military force? p.m. johnson: yes, and what is so encouraging is that the whole house understands the vital importance of that article 5 guarantee that we make to every one of the 30 members of nato. >> the prime minister quite

rightly pitches this as a battle between the party of war and those who support international law. there is only one lawful government in ukraine. if they are forced to move or possibly forced into exile in the short run or the longer run, will the prime minister state clearly that we will ensure they can be a functional and effective government, wherever they operate from? p.m. johnson: it's a very important point that he raises. that is why in our discussions with president zelensky we are seeing what we can do to give them the practical support they need to continue. >> the city of london is a global asset whose enduring success rests not on dirty money, but on a commitment to excellence and on adherence to the rule of law. it is right that we now use that as a way to show global leadership.

can i encourage my right hon. friend to sanction all the remaining russian banks, to sanction the executives associated with them, and i notice that many are resigning today to publish a further list of individuals, resident in this country or otherwise, to be sanctioned and to redouble his excellent efforts to suspend russia from swift, as the single most effective immediate step the west could take to put pressure on vladimir putin? p.m. johnson: i thank him very much and particularly for his important testimonial to the city of london, whose work should not be sullied by association with ill-gotten russian money. the program he sets out for sanctions is exactly the right one and the one that the government are following. >> thank you, mr. speaker. returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already

devoid of stars. will the prime minister reiterate that our quarrel is not with the russian people, but with their leader vladimir putin, who has committed a very grave error? p.m. johnson: he is so right, and i know that is what the house thinks. we admire the russian people. our links to the russian people go back to the time when we stood shoulder to shoulder to fight fascism with the russian people. russia's contribution to culture, to art, to literature and to music is unparalleled. it is an extraordinary country, and nothing we do or say should obscure that. >> winston churchill created the council of europe as a bastion against fascism and communism. since the fall of communism, russia has set great importance on its membership, as a fig leaf of respectability. every time our conservative group has tried to get it expelled, we have been foiled by russian gold.

will the prime minister now instruct his ambassador on the council of europe to move for the immediate expulsion of russia from the council, so that there is no place for gangsters in the halls of civilised nations? p.m. johnson: eloquently put, mr. speaker, and he is dead right. i think my hon. friend mr. hanley made that point the other day, who is on the council and i certainly , agree with it. >> so many russians see this attack on ukraine as they would see an attack of their father on their mother, because there are such intimate family relationships between the two groups. today, thousands of russians are protesting in cities against their domestic law, against this awful war. will he provide them with his support? will he amplify that support to help reduce any support there is for this ridiculous war?

will he also provide sanctuary and safe haven for refugees, including troops, outside ukraine so that they can re-engage and we can win this war at home and abroad? p.m. johnson: he makes a series of extremely important observations. yes, it is vital that we get the message across to the whole of russia about what is really going on. they are being lied to day after day, and his point about supporting troops who need temporary exile, as it were, is a good one. >> i thank the prime minister for yet again coming to the house to keep us informed and for his leadership in this crisis. he was right to provide military aid to ukraine. but the ukrainian ambassador asked for our support on a no-fly zone today. in his answer earlier, i think

the prime minister was keeping that option open, is that correct? p.m. johnson: i think it is pretty clear to the house that we are trying to keep all our options open on this front. some of them, frankly, may be more practicable that others. we must also have a dose of realism about what we can do on the military front, but we will keep all things under review. >> many of the residents in my constituency come from a number of the countries on the eastern flank and still have relatives living there. obviously, like us, they will be deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of the crisis. so what steps are the government taking to prepare for the humanitarian issue? will the 1,000 troops on standby to help with humanitarian assistance now be deployed? p.m. johnson: she raises a very important point. what we are seeing now,

tragically, is people moving west out of kyiv, with columns of traffic, and people already moving into south-eastern poland. there is going to be an influx. as i said to the prime minister of poland as well, we are there to help. >> i thank the prime minister for his statement today and for his strong package of sanctions. i want to ask him about preventing sexual violence in conflict. in november last year, we issued a strong statement that said that the use of sexual violence as a weapon in conflict is a red line akin to the use of chemical weapons. will he reaffirm that commitment today, and will he send a strong message to russia that the international community will not tolerate the use of sexual violence in conflict?

p.m. johnson: yes, i think her for all the work she has done on that issue. it is something that the uk government have campaigned on for a long time and have indeed raised, very rightly, in international consciousness. i think it should be treated as a war crime like any other, and people who perpetrate sexual violence in conflict can expect to be tried in those tribunals. >> in seeking to redraw the boundaries of europe through bloodshed, putin has attacked not only ukraine but all of us, and we stand with ukraine in standing for the rule of law. i welcome the sanctions that the -- that he has announced, but i was confused by his response on russian disinformation, which he seemed to imply would be addressed by the online safety bill. that is many, many months away. russian disinformation is organized. their bots are state-sponsored. what steps will he take to address that? p.m. johnson: she raises a good point. what we are doing is a massive,

positive strat comms campaign in russian and in ukrainian to make sure that people get the truth and hear the truth. >> as we have noticed this afternoon, virtually everyone in this house has supported the efforts towards resistance over the past few months and in these days. i imagine the house will also support the very different sort of warfare under occupation over the coming months and possibly years. but the house will also have noticed the marvellous way the prime minister has spoken directly to the russian people today. i hope that he will bear in mind that at the moment public opinion in russia is rather different, and that does underline the importance of accurate information. p.m. johnson: he is quite right. he is a distinguished former soldier and he knows that truth is the first casualty.

we have to make sure that we are telling people exactly what is going on. to the best of my knowledge, at the moment the ukrainians are resisting much more strongly than some people had thought that they would. who knows how long they toggle showing location ofcolumn 588can -- let us hope that they can and let us encourage them to do so, but let us get the message out as well. that is our job. >> the prime minister is absolutely right, we equivocated shamefully after crimea. we were spineless. we must not be spineless now, because what will inevitably happen is that either the baltic states, one of the members of nato, or perhaps sweden or finland will feel the wrath of putin next, and that will mean british action. do we not need to try to set in

train now a process whereby putin himself ends up in the dock in a court? norman birkett, who was the alternate british judge at nuremberg, said at nuremberg that initiating a war of aggression is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. putin must be brought to a court of law and end his days in prison, must he not? p.m. johnson: one of the most fascinating things about what putin is doing is how close an analogy there is between his actions and those of slobodan milosevic. we have exactly the same nonsense being peddled about the mystical union between kyiv and moscow as we did about kosovo and belgrade, and exactly the same aggression, and remember

that slobodan milosevic should died on trial. >> i welcome the package of sanctions set out by the prime minister and the fact that he has confirmed that more will come. if they are to be successful in punishing president putin for what he has done to date and to deter him from going further and attacking our nato partners, they must be sustained, and if they are to be sustained, we must be honest with the british people that there will be a cost for them and that we will have to pay an economic cost, but that it is a cost we must pay, and it pales into insignificance compared with the cost to the people of ukraine. p.m. johnson: yes, and not only is that true, but the opportunity and the reward for success and being strong are huge, because if this should end with the rejection of aggression and the rejection of the putin regime's view of the world, that

will be a massive, massive benefit, and economic benefit as well to the whole world. ,>> up until may 2021, valentyna yakovleva was my constituent. she resided in scotland for 20 years with her daughter and her family, but due to an initial error in application, she eventually exhausted appeals and was deported with two covid jags last year. now that 71-year-old is sheltering in a subway. in response to the hon. member for central ayrshire who is no longer in her place, i reiterate does the prime , minister agree that as we face a likely refugee crisis, the uk must be doing all it can to extract individuals who have immediate family relatives in the uk? i urge for support for this case. p.m. johnson: i think her very much for drawing the case to my attention. if she sends me the details, i'y

much for drawing the case to my attention. i will be happy to make sure it is properly taken up. >> can i just say, those who did not get in, this will definitely bit not be the e