Russian Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure

Commons Urgent Question

The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House of Commons on Thursday 4 June.

“I thank the right honourable Member for his Urgent Question. Once again, we are witnessing truly reckless attacks from the Russian state, not only impacting the people of Ukraine, who continue to stand up to these barbaric assaults time and again, but in Romania; a Russian drone hit a residential building there on Friday, injuring civilians. This incident represents a dangerous violation of Romania’s sovereignty and a serious violation of NATO airspace, and it heightens the risk of miscalculation. We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and Romania, and with all those impacted by Russia’s actions.

“I thank the right honourable Member for his Urgent Question. Once again, we are witnessing truly reckless attacks from the Russian state, not only impacting the people of Ukraine, who continue to stand up to these barbaric assaults time and again, but in Romania; a Russian drone hit a residential building there on Friday, injuring civilians. This incident represents a dangerous violation of Romania’s sovereignty and a serious violation of NATO airspace, and it heightens the risk of miscalculation. We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and Romania, and with all those impacted by Russia’s actions.

Russia is now launching an average of over 5,000 drones a month at Ukraine, more than five times the 2024 average. Last month alone, Russia fired over 7,100 drones—a new record—giving rise to the highest civilian casualty count since April 2022. We condemn this clear escalation by Russia, and it is why yesterday we summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we condemned Russia’s escalation, the assaults on Ukraine and the violation of Romania’s sovereignty. But Ukraine continues to hold firm, and we and our partners and allies stand united with it.

The UK’s total military, economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine amounts to £21.8 billion, and that includes £13 billion in military support. Last month, my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary announced that the UK will provide the biggest ever drone support for Ukraine, delivering at least 120,000 drones this year. As he said at the Dispatch Box on Monday, he has directed that UK delivery of air defence systems to Ukraine be accelerated. Later this month, he will chair the next meeting of the 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO Headquarters and will look to further step up the military aid that we and partners can provide to Ukraine together.

Russia can end this war, but in the meantime, we will continue to work with international partners. The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelensky last night. We will continue to ensure that Ukraine gets the military and financial support it needs to defend itself, while ramping up the economic pressure on Russia to force Putin to de-escalate the war and engage in meaningful talks”.

My Lords, Britain has stood resolutely against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and we continue to support the Government in their opposition to Putin’s war. Britain has a role to play in weakening the Russian war machine through effective sanctions, working in close concert with our US and European partners. Can the Minister please explain why the Government have appeared to weaken their oil sanctions on Russia?

We welcome the Statement the Prime Minister made in March. The British Armed Forces are now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters, and the Defence Secretary said something similar. To date, how many sanctioned vessels have been seized?

I think even the noble Lord knows when he says “appeared to weaken” that the story that was reported was not exactly accurate. We have new sanctions that we are introducing, although they will not be introduced perhaps as quickly as some noble Lords would like, and we can discuss them when they come before the House. But the idea that we have weakened existing sanctions is simply not correct.

My Lords, we have seen in the conflicts in the Middle East we have just been discussing in the House, in Sudan and now in Ukraine, that there has been a systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure, which is a clear breach of Article 8 of the Rome statute and Article 52 of the Geneva convention. There seems to be impunity for combatants targeting essential civilian infrastructure. Will the Government make it very clear that both those perpetuating the targeting of civilian infrastructure and any country that is supporting, facilitating or providing any munitions that assist in the targeting of civilian infrastructure will be sanctioned by the United Kingdom, there will investigations into their breaches of international humanitarian law, and we will prosecute them through any means we have as a member of international judicial resolve?

I do share, as I think the noble Lord knows, his deep concerns around the changing nature of warfare and what seems to be happening in many places, as he said, with the deliberate targeting of civilians and infrastructure. We do not comment about future sanctions, as he knows, but we will take robust action. We have been leaders in calling for accountability and for enabling some of the mechanisms by which that is achieved to be put into place around the world, and we will continue to do that. It is important that the UK maintains its reputation for standing up for the rule of law, and we will be champions for this whenever we need to be and using whatever mechanisms we need.

My Lords, will the Minister comment on the attack yesterday on the Chernobyl civil nuclear power facilities by Russian drones? Is it the Government’s intention, with other like-minded countries—such as France, Germany and, I hope, even the United States—to raise this matter to the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency and bring to its attention that this is completely contrary to all the rules of war?

The noble Lord is absolutely right, and we will of course be raising this in every forum we can. I commend the work that our friends and partners in France have led on the safety of Chernobyl; it is disturbing to see these most recent events.

My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that what has gone on in Palestine weakens the international ability to criticise Russia, and that those people who do not make that case actually make it more likely that we will see more civilian attacks, as we have seen in recent weeks?

I am not sure about that. It is possible and important, and it is our responsibility to call out what Russia is doing in Ukraine: abducting children, targeting infrastructure and carrying out relentless drone attacks on cities. This must be condemned, whatever someone’s views may be on Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. We have discussed this and it is very clear what the Government’s position is on that; it is consistent with the position we take on international humanitarian law in Ukraine and everywhere else. I do not think there is anything that could excuse what is happening in Ukraine and the behaviour of the Russians towards the people of Ukraine. The UK Government will continue to be steadfast in that view.

My Lords, the recent Russian drone attack on the flats in Galați in Romania represents a major escalation indeed and is incredibly worrying. Is the UK going to lead a specific initiative in the UN Security Council on this, and what other action can the UK take alongside our partners?

That is a good suggestion; I will take that back. We need to use all the mechanisms we have. Our work multilaterally is important, not only at the UN but through the coalition of the willing and the conversations here in London in recent days. I will take back the noble Lord’s suggestion, because we should be using every avenue we have.

My Lords, during the recent Recess, thanks to the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, I, along with parliamentary colleagues from both Houses, was privileged to visit RAF personnel operating and supporting the enhanced air policing mission led by NATO. I was also going to mention the subsequent attack in Galați, Romania, which was very much pre-empted by the Romanian Ministers we saw. They were very keen to thank the United Kingdom for the support it has given, but I echo the calls: is there more that we can do? This is about Russia testing NATO up and down borders and across the Black Sea. It is very important that we, the United Kingdom, stand with others in pushing back as hard as we can against these Russian incursions.

I could not agree more with the noble Baroness; the incursions we have seen into Romania are exactly as she describes. I pay tribute to her and all others involved in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. I took part, with the Royal Navy, and it is immensely helpful—it is one of the best things you can do as a parliamentarian who wishes to understand better how our foreign policy and defence work together.