Scotland stands in solidarity with Ukraine - Alyn Smith MP

Scotland and Russia share many connections going back over the centuries.

We share a patron saint in St Andrew; during the reign of Catherine the Great, Samuel Greig’s improvements to Russian naval forces earned him the moniker of “Father of the Russian Navy”.

In World War Two, we stood side by side against the scourge of fascism. My grandfather, like so many others, served on the Arctic Convoys. We have a rich shared history – all of which makes President Putin’s aggressive provocations even more tragic.

In the same way as at the end of the Second World War Germany’s defeat was also Germany’s liberation, the problems begin and end with the regime in Moscow. We must remember that the first victims of his despotic regime, now joined by the people of Ukraine, are the people of Russia themselves.

Protesters at Holyrood on Saturday. Picture: Lisa Ferguson/JPIMedia STAND WITH UKKRAINE SUPPORTERS PROTEST OUTSIDE THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT TODAY ABOUT THE INVASION OF THEIR COUNTRY FROM RUSSIA AND PLEAD FOR PUTIN TO STOP

Putin’s kleptocratic authoritarian regime has robbed, murdered and corrupted its way to power. It oppresses and impoverishes its own people. It treats minorities, especially LGBT minorities, appallingly. It imprisons, harasses and poisons journalists and democratic activists. It keeps the population in fear of the other at home and of us in the wider world. A successful disinformation campaign has been waged against the people of Russia by their own government, all to keep Putin on his throne.

In pursuit of imperialist fantasies, Putin has sought to export his autocratic model abroad to countries such as Kazakhstan and Belarus. His agents have sown dissent through disinformation and electoral interference.

Putin’s regime, having robbed the Russian people to pay for his opulence and decadence, now intends to rob Ukraine’s citizens of their own sovereignty and identity. In a flagrant breach of international law, he sent his forces to he says "demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine. Propaganda outlet RT (it would be inappropriate to call it journalistic) pumps out such disinformation with no basis in reality.

Ukraine is not run by fascists. It is not committing genocide against Russians. But it is under attack from Putin’s forces and deserves our solidarity and support.

We face the gravest crisis in Europe’s security since the Second World War. An attack by an autocratic tyrant on Ukraine’s democracy is an attack on our values of liberal democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is a naked power grab to forcefully reset the international system to a time of imperial empires and spheres of influence. Such a Hobbesian world will not lead to peace and stability but war and chaos for all.

Scotland stands in solidarity with Ukraine because we understand the importance of international law. We support the right to self-determination and for people to decide their own futures. Ukraine deserves its independence and peace from its neighbour. It is not the place for Putin or anyone else to decide what Ukraine wants – that is for the Ukrainian people to decide.

It is why we in the SNP will support the UK government’s sanctions on Putin and his cronies - and urge it to go further. Aid must be given to our friends in Kyiv and maximum international pressure brought to bear on Putin’s empire of corruption. At home, we must shore up the holes in our defences by investing in our national resilience. The Russia Report’s recommendations must be implemented in full. We must finally remove the stain of dodgy finance that washes around the UK’s politics and the London laundromat. The UK government has our support for, finally, cleaning up and protecting our democracy; it only needs to act now before it is too late.

Ukraine must be backed by Europe. Ukraine must be backed by the West. It is now the battleground between liberal democracy and kleptocratic autocracy. The world is watching and we must not be found wanting in our support. Otherwise I fear that worse is yet to come.

Alyn Smith is the SNP MP for Stirling