'We don't want our children to be killed, but our children are being killed. Our hospitals are being bombed, everything is being destroyed. Planes are flying and dropping bombs everywhere; we don't know where the next rocket will land.'

These were the dire words of a distraught mother as Russia indiscriminately bombarded Ukraine with bomb after bomb after bomb. It's impossible not to be moved by her desperation, but it's not impossible for our actions to speak louder than our words. It is imperative that the west moves heaven and earth to impose the most severe punishments that will send Putin the stark message his decision to invade is a historic mistake. And thank God that the west is joined at the hip at countering Russian aggression by implementing crippling sanctions on the Russian economy, and I'm pleased to say that Britain is leading on this. But I acknowledge—as many have spoken here today—that we need to do more, and we need to act fast and we need to deliver immediately.

Now is not the time for political posturing, as Alun said, but firm action. After all, throughout Britain's bold history, we've taken pride in being a nation of sanctuary for those fleeing oppression, and we must continue to do so. In addition, as a father, and a grandfather of seven very young, beautiful children, and someone who had elderly parents, I can't help but imagine the unthinkable: that is, if my family were caught up in this conflict. It's so difficult to comprehend. What would we do?

Peace that once stood tall in Europe has been shattered by the Russian dark cloud, and this sombre fact is something none of us would ever have expected in our lifetime. But amidst the carnage and destruction, there is a glimmer of hope, and it's something the Russian regime badly underestimated, and that is the tenacity of the people of Ukraine. We've all seen powerful and emotional scenes of Ukrainians defending their country fiercely, as I mentioned last week in the debate. Their identity, their land, their culture and their history is so precious to them that thousands of them are ready to lay down their lives for their country, such is the strength of their identity and pride. We now owe it to those brave people to ensure our actions continue to speak louder than our words, and we do need to make those actions happen now; otherwise, the darkest periods of history will be repeated and much to our peril. I absolutely support this motion. Slava Ukraini.