Labour’s response to the Ukraine crisis

Top lines

NB: This briefing was co-authored with an expert who would prefer to remain anonymous.

Putin is amassing troops on the Russia-Ukraine border. His motives are to re-establish Russia’s status as a great power in opposition to the West, and use the threat of military incursion as a bargaining chip to curb the West’s role in Ukraine.

A full invasion of Ukraine is not necessary for Putin’s aims, and could be extremely costly for Russia. The existing military build-up is insufficient for full invasion or occupation.

Furthermore, there are other options apart from all-out military invasion, including cyber-attacks or more limited strikes that could cause Ukraine’s government to collapse and create an opportunity for Russia to install a pro-Putin puppet in Kyiv. 

Panic about war could play into Putin’s hands. Instead, the UK should focus on supporting Ukraine, including by building the capacity of its emergency services and its ability to protect critical national infrastructure.

The UK must show a willingness to work with allies, including European neighbours, such as within the Normandy and Minsk formats. 

Labour should challenge the UK Government to clean up the City’s links with Russian dirty money, and instead propose greater UK-Ukraine investment.

Photo: St Sofia’s cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, 29 October 2013. Ben Adlard via Flickr.