Ukraine: Russia

(asked on 3rd September 2014) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on a link between pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine and the Russian government.


Answered by
David Lidington Portrait
David Lidington
This question was answered on 10th September 2014

The Russian government has been linked with the crisis in Ukraine since its beginning, when some Russian servicemen were given state medals for their role in the illegal annexation of Crimea in spite of initial denials by Russia that they had been involved.

On 28 August the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) expressed his concern by further mounting evidence of Russian troop involvement in Ukraine. This followed the release of satellite imagery taken by NATO on 21 and 23 August which showed Russian self-propelled artillery units inside Ukraine in the vicinity of the Luhansk province. Brigadier-General Nico Tak, Head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) crisis management centre, said that NATO had also detected large quantities of advanced weapons, including air defence systems, artillery, tanks and armoured personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

On 28 August the British Ambassador to the UN made a statement which detailed evidence he had received further demonstrating the extent of Russian involvement in Ukraine. The separatist arsenal included up to 100 Main Battle Tanks; 80 Armoured Personnel Carriers; 100 MANPADs; 500 Anti-Tank weapons; and over 100 artillery pieces. Almost all of these were supplied directly by Russia since the conflict started.

On 15 August a convoy of 23 armoured personnel carriers crossed into Ukraine close to where the Russian humanitarian convoy was awaiting customs clearance. The following day a further convoy of 84 military vehicles crossed the border.

On 7 August, 50 vehicles, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and BM-21 GRAD Multiple Rocket Launchers crossed from Russia into Ukraine at the Chervonopartisansk border crossing.

On 25 August, 10 Russian paratroopers belonging to the 331st Regiment of the 98th Svirsk Airborne Division were captured near the village of Dzerkalne - 20km inside Ukrainian territory. Satellite imagery confirmed the deployment of Russian armoured vehicles supported by artillery south of Donetsk close to this location. On 28 August another Russian soldier, Petr Khokhlov, serving with the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade, was captured and detained in Luhansk.

In light of this evidence, it is not credible for Russia and pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk to claim that these serving members of the Russian armed forces were in Ukraine ‘by accident’ or ‘on holiday’.

Russia can no longer pretend that it is not a direct party to this conflict, indeed this conflict would no longer exist without direct Russian military involvement in support of the separatists. The Prime Minister has called for such activity to cease immediately and has warned of further sanctions if Russia’s behaviour continues.

Reticulating Splines