9. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Update on Ukraine

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:30 pm on 22 November 2022.

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Photo of Sioned Williams Sioned Williams Plaid Cymru 5:30, 22 November 2022

Thank you for your update, Minister. It's disappointing to hear that there hasn't been a clear response as yet from UK Government regarding greater funding for hosts and local authorities to assist with the provision of support for Ukrainian refugees in Wales during this cost-of-living crisis. For all Rishi Sunak's warm words in Kyiv, the Westminster Conservative Government is not showing proper support for the Ukrainians in Wales forced to flee their homes.

The Europe director of the World Health Organization said yesterday that 700 attacks on health infrastructure have been documented since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. He called the attacks a breach of international humanitarian law and the rules of war—if there are such things—and warned that millions that Ukrainians would face life-threatening conditions over the winter. The WHO has called for a humanitarian health corridor to ensure that supplies can reach those who need them most, and said that the only sustainable solution for Ukrainian's health system was, of course, for the war to be brought to an end. It's my understanding, Minister, that we sent our first batch of medical supplies to Ukraine from Wales in March. So, could the Minister please update us on what other shipments of or funding for medical aid from Welsh Government to Ukraine have been made since? And is it possible at all to have more targeted supported coming from here in Wales?

UN Women have recently released a policy report on the gender impacts of the crisis in Ukraine. They note that gender equality considerations are missing from discussions in the Ukraine crisis and recommend, among others, the following: tailored food assistance with an emphasis on improving access to adequate and appropriate nutritional food to meet the specific needs of women and girls in a situation of conflict and crisis; source food for food-assistance programmes from women-owned and women-led farmers co-operatives and organisations for humanitarian response and public provisioning; and ensuring, of course, that healthcare, including sexual and reproductive and mental health services, is provided to those subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse and trafficking in the context of food and security and humanitarian crisis.

And lastly, on your comments regarding Holodomor remembrance and the need to ensure awareness of this long history of aggression against the people of Ukraine, and the role of the Welsh journalist Gareth Jones in revealing this to the world, I recommend the excellent film Mr Jones by Agnieszka Holland. It should be watched by everybody. It underlines not only the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of terrible and terrifying oppression, and one individual's incredible bravery in revealing this, but also the importance of truth, which is so often called, of course, the first casualty of war, and the crucial role of the press in the face of the self-interest of the state. Diolch.