The MP for Bracknell has urged the West ‘not to blink’ over ejecting Russian forces out of Ukraine.
Russian forces under President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last week in an escalation of the civil war in the country between separatist forces and the Ukranian defence forces which has been raging since 2014.
The Russian military invasion has led Ukrainians to either stay and defend themselves or flee to other countries.
There are now questions about how the UK Government and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies should respond.
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In a question to Liz Truss (Conservative, South West Norfolk) the secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, James Sunderland, the Conservative MP for Bracknell, asked: “The rhetoric and the statements coming out of the Kremlin this week would appear to indicate that the invasion is not going to plan from the Russian perspective.
“Could you please convince the House that the UK, the US and all our allies will not blink when it comes to the global imperative to eject Russian forces from Ukraine, and of the need to ensure that Ukraine is restored as quickly as possible to a free, democratic and proud nation?”
Mrs Truss replied: “I am very clear that there is a tough road ahead.
“We are with the Ukrainian people. We know that this could last for some time.
“At yesterday’s meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers we were clear that this tough package of sanctions would increase.
“We will be doing more over the coming days and weeks. We will continue to put pressure on the Kremlin, and continue to supply defensive weaponry into Ukraine to support its people in their just cause of pursuing self-determination and sovereignty."
READ MORE: How you can support people in Ukraine right now
For clarity, the Kremlin is the seat of power in Russia, and the G7 is a seven country forum made up of the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.
It is not entirely clear what Mr Sunderland meant by ‘not blinking’ but it is understood that he has urged some form of action to stop the Russian military seizing the whole of Ukraine.
The country has been in a civil war between Ukranian defence forces and ethnic Russian separatists in the Donbas region, which borders Russia.
The pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic were both set up in 2014.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, after officially recognising both of these republics and allegedly responding to requests for military aid from them.
Mr Sunderland is an Armed Forces veteran and has been deployed at conflict zones in Iraq, Bosnia, Africa, the Falklands and Afghanistan.
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