Labour offers support as PM announces “barrage” of sanctions against Russia

“The invasion of Ukraine has begun,” Sajid Javid declared this morning. This comes after Russia recognised the Luhansk and Donetsk breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent states – they are considered by Ukraine to be under the administration of terrorist organisations – and sent troops into the areas. The UK has ruled out military intervention in Ukraine, but pledged to offer continued support through equipment. Boris Johnson has now announced that “the first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia” will be instituted “immediately”. The details will be set out in the House of Commons early this afternoon. Asked whether sanctions could affect oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin who own property in the UK, send their children to schools here and donate to the Conservatives, the Health Secretary confirmed that they “almost certainly” would. “I’m sure that we’ll consider what sectors in the Russian economy we can target as well,” Javid added.

Russia is “turning its back on the Minsk agreements” (measures intended to stop the fighting in Donbas, which did not stop), and the “blatant breach of international law must be met with consequences from the international community”, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said. Labour has expressed “solidarity with the Ukrainian people” and concluded: “The UK and our allies must respond with strong sanctions. Putin and the Russian regime must face serious consequences.” Keir Starmer recently used a Guardian article to criticise the Stop the War Coalition, and the opposition party has consistently backed the decisions of the UK government during the crisis. While the UK is wholly in favour of tough sanctions, will NATO states take a uniform approach? And if the West believes Putin is acting irrationally, what difference can even the toughest sanctions make – or are such moves really only designed for the long term?

In other news, Labour has criticised the Prime Minister for unveiling a “half-baked announcement” after he confirmed that all legal Covid restrictions in England will be lifted this week. “It is not a plan to live well with Covid,” Starmer said. UNISON described scrapping free testing as a “foolish move” and argued that “the government has taken leave of its senses”, while the TUC accused ministers of “creating needless hardship and taking a sledgehammer to public health” by withdrawing isolation support payments and failing to provide decent sick pay for all. You can read the reactions here. LabourList also has a report on former Haringey leader Joseph Ejiofor being blocked from standing as a council candidate, and Newcastle leader Nick Forbes has confirmed that he will not seek to overturn his deselection or find another council seat but agree to leave instead.