Thank you, Mr Chair.
Last week Ukraine marked Defenders’ Day. This is a day when Ukrainians honour those who defend them and remember those who gave their lives so that Ukraine could live.
Today millions of Ukrainians stand united in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression. Once again, they are defending their statehood, their culture and their independence. On these grounds alone, Ukraine’s fight is an honourable one worthy of the world’s backing. But the stakes are, in fact, even higher, and they should matter to us all.
Because Ukraine stands between a world that is based on agreed principles, norms and laws, which has, for the most part, delivered stability and prosperity for our populations over several decades. And the alternative a world where would-be aggressors are rewarded rather than punished. A world without rules and principles governing international relations and conduct. And a world where conflict and instability increase while prosperity and cooperation decrease.
The Kremlin’s propaganda machine wants to convince us all that Russia’s war against Ukraine is now on the path to an inevitable victory. They want to give the impression that Russia’s army is relentlessly advancing. In doing so, they hope to create a self-fulfilling prophecy where Ukraine’s allies reduce their support.
But this narrative is nonsense. Look at the statistics. Since November 2022, Russia has gained only 1% of Ukrainian territory. Its losses are both unconscionable and unsustainable – more than one million soldiers have been killed or wounded. Russia is also losing huge amounts of materiel that it can’t replace fast enough, including over 4,000 tanks, 9,000 armoured vehicles and 2,000 artillery pieces. Failing to achieve its goals on the battlefield, Russia has resorted to terrorising Ukraine’s civilians through aerial bombardments, including strikes this past week on a maternity hospital and gas infrastructure.
In this room, Russia tries to distract us by telling us about our economic challenges. Yet in Russia, the economy is stagnating. Even those around President Putin are publicly admitting that the economy is in trouble. Meanwhile, the cost of the war is piling up, and ordinary Russians are footing the bill. The 2025 budget deficit is now set to be almost five times greater than the original target; VAT is rising to 22%; taxation thresholds are dropping from 60 to 10 million roubles, and social spending faces real-term cuts.
I will conclude with a segment from a recent opinion piece in The Financial Times by Yuval Noah Harari under the title ‘Why Ukraine is winning the war’.
“It is impossible to tell how the war will develop, since it depends on future decisions. But in one crucial respect, the Ukrainian victory is already decisive and irreversible … War is not won by the side that conquers more land, destroys more cities, or kills more people. War is won by the side that achieves its political aims. And in Ukraine, it is already clear that Putin has failed to achieve his chief war aim — the destruction of the Ukrainian nation.”
We should all be grateful to those defending Ukraine. And they can rest assured that they do not stand alone.
Thank you, Mr Chair.