Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace Debate
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Steve Darling
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Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace
Steve Darling Excerpts(1 day, 19 hours ago)
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Al Carns
First, we are fully in support of our NATO allies and, of course, our Baltic allies. The last time article 4 was invoked was 2022, when it was invoked by many of our Baltic allies on the invasion of Ukraine. It has been invoked eight times, with the most recent instance, obviously, being this morning. I am not going to give the details of our air defence operational capabilities here, but we do have a suite of capabilities. If Members read the strategic defence review and the defence industrial strategy, they will see that there is a large proportion on industrial rebuild here in the UK and supporting our allies with joint ventures and partnerships to re-establish the military industrial base of Europe in these unprecedented times, and central to that will be air defence.
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
I understand that Ukraine holds approximately €190 billion in frozen Russian assets. Press reports today suggest that there is a level of flexibility in the stance on releasing them, as long as there are some legal guarantees from the European Union around the risks that may be faced. Are the Government supporting the European Union to unlock this opportunity, which could help to support efforts in Ukraine?
Al Carns
We support the ability to get resources into Ukraine in any way, shape or form. I will raise that specific matter with the Home Office and our cross-Government colleagues and get back to the hon. Gentleman on the answer.