Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to provide arms to government forces in Ukraine; and whether NATO intends to do so.

The British Government’s policy since the start of the crisis has been to supply non-lethal assistance to Ukrainian armed forces, in line with the Government’s assessment that there must be a political solution to this crisis. The Government is providing a substantial package of non-lethal equipment to Ukraine comprising medical kits, winter clothing and equipment, body armour, helmets and fuel. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as an institution does not own any combat capabilities and is therefore not capable of providing arms to Ukraine. It is a national decision for each country in the NATO alliance to decide whether to supply lethal aid to Ukraine. The UK is not planning to do so, but as the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in the House of Commons on Tuesday 10 February “we will reserve the right to keep under review the question of supplying lethal aid”.