Russian Shadow Fleet Vessel Leruo

Viscount Stansgate Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

The noble Lord puts his finger on a very important issue: the response of the United Kingdom and other allies to the Russian challenge in Ukraine has to change with the methods and tactics that vary on the part of the Russians. I discussed the Black Sea issue with my Bulgarian counterpart at the Berlin process meeting. It is of widespread concern. We are indeed in discussions with the Ukrainians. As noble Lords will know, this is an issue not just about security of maritime transport but about grain supply for the rest of the world, so it is a global humanitarian issue as well as a regional security issue. I can assure the noble Lord that we are absolutely focused on trying to get allies to provide the support that is relevant for this challenge.

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, speaking of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, can my noble friend tell the House whether the Government have reached a view about who was responsible for the decision effectively to deny to Ukraine the use of Starlink resources on which it depends so heavily for its defence?

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. Let me quote what the Defence Secretary said on 15 October. He was

“reassured directly by Secretary Hegseth that the service has been restored. And that is a demonstration … of the importance of the US contribution on intelligence sharing”.

Our focus is now on ensuring that we, together with Washington, can provide support for Ukraine in future.