Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 November 2022.

• UK’s Ukraine Cyber Programme is protecting the Ukrainian Government and its critical national infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks.
• Partnership with industry is preventing Russian malign actors from accessing vital networks and providing forensic capabilities to the Ukrainian authorities.
• An initial £6.35 million package was mobilised in response to an increasing tempo of Russian cyber activity in the days following the invasion of Ukraine.

A £6.35 million support package from the UK Government is protecting Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure and vital public services from cyber attacks, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has revealed.

The UK’s Ukraine Cyber Programme was mobilised shortly after Putin’s invasion in February to protect against increased Russian cyber attacks. The programme has not been made public until now to protect its operational security.

Utilising the expertise of world-leading cyber security providers, the UK’s Ukraine Cyber Programme has to date:

1. Provided incident response support to Government of Ukraine entities, protecting them against destructive cyber attacks, including malware such as Industroyer2. This is preventing malicious actors from accessing vital information relevant to the war effort.
2. Limited attacker access to vital networks and supported Ukraine to harden their critical infrastructure against future attacks.
3. Delivered frontline cyber security hardware and software including: firewalls to prevent attacks taking hold; DDoS protection to ensure Ukrainian citizens can continue to access vital information; and forensic capabilities to enable Ukrainian analysts to fully understand system compromises.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is not limited to its horrific land invasion. It has also persistently attempted to invade Ukraine’s cyberspace, threatening critical information, services and infrastructure.

The UK’s support to Ukraine is not limited to military aid – we are drawing on Britain’s world-leading expertise to support Ukraine’s cyber defences. Together, we will ensure that the Kremlin is defeated in every sphere: on land, in the air and in cyber space.

Lindy Cameron, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, said:

The NCSC is proud to have played a part in supporting Ukraine’s cyber defenders. They have mounted an impressive defence against Russian aggression in cyberspace, just as they have done on the physical battlefield.

The threat remains real and the UK’s support package is undoubtedly bolstering Ukraine’s defences further.

Russian actors have a long history of hostile and destabilising activity against Ukraine, including:

• Shutting off part of Ukraine’s electricity grid in December 2015, leaving 230,000 people without power for up to 6 hours.
• Destructive cyber attacks in 2017 targeting Ukraine’s finance and energy sectors and government services, leading to knock-on effects on other European partners.
• Kyiv metro and Odessa airport disrupted by ransomware that encrypted hard drives.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on 15-16 February 2022, which the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) judge were the work of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
• A series of cyber attacks since the invasion, including against commercial operators such as Viasat in March which had a serious impact on access to internet and other services across both Ukraine and other parts of Europe.

The tempo of Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine increased significantly following its illegal invasion in February 2022, seeking to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and strategic advantage in the war.

The UK’s support is strengthening Ukraine’s cyber defences and improving collective long-term cyber resilience.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia.

Thank you, President.

This vote today sends a powerful message of Security Council support not just to UNSOM but to President Hassan Sheikh and all Somalis.

UNSOM has played an important role in Somalia since its inception. The recent strategic review found its mandate well aligned with Somalia’s national priorities. Its recommendations will enable the Mission to keep supporting Somalia through a new era.

The successful conclusion of the electoral process and the peaceful transition of power gives Somalia an opportunity to make progress in achieving its national objectives and in the fight against Al-Shabaab. We encourage all Somalis to work together and seize this opportunity.

The United Kingdom will continue to stand with Somalia and we commend President Hassan Sheikh’s determination to defeat Al-Shabaab.

Finally President, let me take this opportunity to thank SRSG Swan for his extraordinary leadership and commitment during this critical transition phase. And I also thank all colleagues for their engagement on this resolution, and to the work of my team. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council briefing on the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Thank you, President, and I thank Under-Secretary Griffiths and Secretary-General Grynspan for their briefings today.

The Black Sea Grain initiative is vital to global food security. The UN estimates that it has indirectly prevented 100 million people from falling into extreme poverty.

Over 60% of the wheat exported under the deal has gone to low and middle-income countries, including via the World Food Programme to Ethiopia, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

Russia’s suspension of this initiative over the weekend has meant over 100 ships blocked from seeking permission to enter Ukrainian ports to load grain.

An average of 100,000 tons of grain is exported each day under the initiative. This is enough to feed 5 million people for a month. The severe impact, should Russia’s suspension of the agreement continue, is clear.

Recognising the global food crisis, the UK has not placed sanctions on food or fertiliser exports from Russia to third countries. We have worked hard, and continue to do so, to ensure there are mitigations in place to avoid indirect impacts of sanctions.

And we note that there has been no decrease in Russian grain exports since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
President, Russia claims it suspended participation in the grain initiative due to an attack on its Black Sea Fleet, falsely claiming those vessels were involved in implementation of the deal.

As we heard from Under-Secretary-General Griffiths, no military vessels or assets are involved in supporting this initiative.

And what Russia neglects to mention is that Russia’s Black Sea fleet is illegally occupying Ukrainian waters and bombing Ukrainian towns.

The global impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine has already been profound. Ending the grain initiative would unleash the “unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution”, of which the Secretary-General’s Global Crisis Response Group warned in June. We therefore urge Russia to renew its cooperation under the agreement so that shipments of grain can continue as before.

We call on Russia to work with all parties to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative this month.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council briefing by the President of the ICAO Council on the event involving Ryanair flight FR4978 in Belarus Airspace on 23 May 2021.

Thank you, President.

When we discussed this issue immediately after the incident, many Council members emphasised the importance of an international independent investigation. We therefore thank Mr Sciacchitano, the President of the Council of ICAO, for attending the Security Council today to relate the findings of the Fact-Finding Investigation Team, and the subsequent decisions of the ICAO Council and Assembly.

President, it is clear from the investigation that on 23 May 2021, the Belarus authorities deliberately communicated a false bomb threat to Ryanair flight FR4978, before manipulating circumstances to influence the aircraft to land at Minsk airport. That the threat was communicated to the aircraft before the so-called bomb threat email was even sent to Minsk airport, leaves little room for doubt.

It appears the purpose of this brazen and dangerous operation was to arrest and detain a journalist, Mr Roman Protasevich, and his partner Sofia Sapega, who with their fellow passengers happened to be flying over Belarus on their way from Athens to Vilnius.

As the ICAO Council and the Assembly made clear, the actions of the Belarusian state endangered the safety and security of a commercial passenger aircraft and the lives of all those on board. And they were a flagrant violation of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions.
But not only this. As we said last year, the use of a spurious terrorist threat to divert an airliner also served to undermine measures put in place by the international community to counter real aviation terror threats, including those this Council addressed in resolution 2309 in 2016.

So the Lukashenko regime has broken international law, created a major risk to the safety of innocent passengers, and undermined aviation safety more broadly – proving itself to be entirely irresponsible on the issue of international peace and security. And for what? All to silence an opposition journalist, further stifling any semblance of free speech left in Belarus.

This has only been compounded further by its role as a staging-ground and facilitator of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, through which it continues to show reckless contempt for international law and the UN Charter.
We call on Belarus to hold accountable those responsible for this incident, desist from any further such unlawful actions, and end its support for Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine.

Thank you.