During his official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
He thanked her for the invitation to visit London and stressed the importance of the British people’s and the UK Parliament’s continued and sincere support for Ukraine.
“The unity around Ukraine, the great support from the entire civilised world and, of course, the UK, allows us to change the situation and sound completely different in the world,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He also expressed his sincere gratitude for the assistance provided by the United Kingdom to our country throughout the entire period of the full-scale war: humanitarian, political, financial and, above all, military.
“This is the turning point that gives us the opportunity to achieve great success on the battlefield. Today, Ukrainians learn English through military terms: Challenger, NLAW, etc. And these are not just words for us, they are something that is already determining the course of this war,” emphasised Ruslan Stefanchuk.
At the same time, he reminded that the UK was a leader in the creation of the “tank” coalition, so he called for the same leading position in the creation of an “air” coalition for Ukraine.
“Another priority for us is to provide air defence systems and medium-range missiles. In addition, it is important to continue military training and exercises for Ukrainian defenders,” said the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine.
Ruslan Stefanchuk also stressed that political decisions of the British Parliament are important for Ukraine, as they are necessary for our future victory. In particular, he called on his British colleagues to recognise russia as a terrorist state with the corresponding consequences; to recognise the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people and to internationally isolate the terrorist country.
In addition, the parties discussed the continuation of sanctions pressure on russia. They also discussed the confiscation of russian assets and the development of a compensation mechanism to send them to Ukraine to compensate for the damage caused by the war.
“The UK has been and remains the leader of sanctions pressure against russia. It is important that this pressure is maintained and we start to block the ways of circumventing the sanctions already imposed. putin must pay for this war. The entire civilised world must issue a “cheque” to putin for this aggression,” the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament stressed.
The Speaker of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, assured his Ukrainian colleague that all the thoughts, prayers and intentions of the UK and its people are only about the victory of Ukraine.
“Every democratic country has the right to sovereignty, to its rights, and no one should suffer from threats and intimidation. If the world does not intervene, things will get worse. That is why we are on the side of those who stand up for what is right and fight against the aggressor,” said Lindsay Hoyle.
He also noted that in order to strengthen support for Ukraine in any area, including the military, it is necessary to continue to unite the efforts of all partners.
“We need to turn the tide. All joint efforts should be made to resolve this issue. Today, russia already feels threatened, they are afraid. That is why it is important to continue producing and supplying sufficient ammunition and weapons. It is important to involve other countries in the ongoing supply to Ukraine,” said the Speaker of the House of Commons.
He also fully supported his Ukrainian colleague’s thesis that russia must pay a stiff price for the unprovoked and aggressive war unleashed in the centre of Europe.
“russia must pay. It is not only necessary to freeze their assets, it is necessary to seize these assets and redirect them to rebuild and restore Ukraine. We will make every effort to ensure that this process takes place all over the world,” said the Speaker of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.