Ukraine - Green Party statement

24 February 2022

The Green Party deplores the invasion of Ukraine and condemns the unprovoked aggression against a sovereign nation in the strongest terms. The party calls for immediate and stringent sanctions on Russia.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:

“It is with unspeakable sadness that we have today witnessed an unprovoked and unjustified invasion of a European country that will have a devastating impact on the lives of millions of innocent people.

“At this dark time, our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people, whose lives have been turned upside down by this dreadful act of aggression.

“The response from the UK has so far been wholly inadequate. We urge the government to immediately impose the strongest of sanctions on Russian economic interests, end once and for all the influence of Russian money in our democracy and launch an investigation into Russian interference in our elections.”

Further general lines

There is a clear need to facilitate people’s transit to asylum in the UK, especially for family reunion
There has been a complete failure to tackle Russian interference in the UK’s political process, as evidenced in the Russia Report – especially as it constitutes a risk to national security that has been ignored for too long
It is important to recognise that the abhorrent actions taken in Ukraine have been taken by the Putin regime alone, and the Russian people should not be held responsible in any way for what their oppressive and dangerous government have done

Sanctions

We want to see the UK government introduce an export and import ban, excluding oil and gas for now
However, this must exclude humanitarian exemptions for e.g. medical equipment
We also want to see an immediate flight ban between the UK and Russia (this was effective with Libya)
The introduction of a UK version of the US’s Alien Tort Statute, which gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in violation of international law
Require banks headquartered in the UK to use existing money laundering legislation to track all accounts of Russian citizens with a view to freezing them
Undertake a detailed investigation of beneficial ownership of companies and bank accounts linked to members of the Russian regime with a view to freezing them