Thank you, Mr Chair. The present situation in the ongoing
conflict between Russia and Ukraine is one that the Kremlin could
hardly have envisaged when it embarked on its devasting war of
aggression.
Russia boasted that Ukraine would be defeated in a three-day
lightning war, yet today marks two years and 219 days of this
conflict. Ukraine now controls Russian territory in the Kursk
Oblast. This is the first time that Russian territory has been
held since the Second World War. We should be clear: this is a
direct consequence of Russia's illegal invasion and entirely
consistent with Ukraine's right to self-defence. To try and
tackle this situation of its own making, Russia has been
launching 50% of its glide bombs at its own territory, and on the
neighbouring Sumy region of Ukraine.
Since we met last week, on the evening of 17-18 September Ukraine
conducted a successful attack on the Toropets strategic
ammunition depot. Renovated in 2018, this was one of Russia's
largest strategic ammunition depots supporting Russia's operation
in Ukraine and housing ammunition of varying calibres, including
ammunition procured from the DPRK.
The resulting explosion recorded 2.7 on the Richter scale,
equivalent to a mild earthquake. It forced Russia to declare a
state of emergency, with the resulting fires 6 km wide and
detectable from space. This was followed on 21 September by
additional successful strikes on depots again in Toropets, and in
Tikhoretsk. These Ukrainian strikes mark significant strategic
setbacks for the Kremlin. The level of losses accounts for months
of Russian ammunition expenditure rates.
Moreover, Russia continues its attacks on Ukrainian civilian and
energy infrastructure in an attempt to try and break the will of
the Ukrainian people. Strikes in Ukraine's central region of
Poltava cut power to 20 settlements, whilst in Zaporizhzhia
Oblast, an attack on Monday killed at least one person and
injured seven, amongst them a 13 year old girl and a 15 year old
boy.
The military situation is markedly different to what many
expected two and a half years ago and this is a testament to the
bravery and fortitude of the Ukrainian people. But it is also
critical that Ukraine continues to receive the support of allies
and partners, diplomatically and militarily. The Kremlin would
like to portray such support as a western conspiracy. But the
reality is that the Russian state isolated itself from the moment
it instigated an unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack
against a sovereign democratic state. Furthermore, Russia has
contravened international law and misled this Forum completely.
The United Kingdom's support to Ukraine is ironclad. To date the
UK's total military, economic and humanitarian support for
Ukraine amounts to £12.8 billion, which includes £7.8 billion in
military support. £3 billion in military aid has been pledged to
Ukraine in 2024-25, a £700 million increase on 2023-24.
The gap between Russia's expectation of a three-day operation and
the 943-day reality continues to grow. The Russian state has a
clear path to prevent this metric from diverging further. It must
cease hostilities and withdraw from Ukraine's internationally
recognised borders. The United Kingdom, alongside its
partners, will continue in its enduring support for Ukraine's
independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Thank you.
