The following motion was passed at the 7 February Winter General Meeting of the Young Greens, the youth network of the Green Party of England & Wales, by 128 votes to 8. Well done and thanks, comrades! We look forward to working together.

If you’re a Young Greens member, or a member of the Green Party more broadly, and want to help with Ukraine solidarity campaigning in the party, email the Green Ukraine Solidarity group: green.ukraine.solidarity@gmail.com

We also encourage all Green Party members to vote to prioritise and support motion A75 ‘Strengthening solidarity with Ukraine’ for the upcoming party Spring Conference (28 March, online).

Motion 2 (Ukraine solidarity motion) 

The Young Greens note that: 

  • Since the beginning of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, around 7 million people have been made refugees by the Russian Federation, with a further around four million being internally displaced [1] 
  • Russia’s war on Ukraine has resulted in widespread human rights abuses, including: Mass killing of civilians, deliberate ecological destruction, and forceable population transfers in occupied regions. [2] 
  • The relocation of children (a move not disputed by Russia) from the occupied regions of Ukraine has led to the sanction of the ICC (International Criminal Court) on Vladimir Putin, given it is indicative of Genocide under the 1948 convention. [3] 
  • Russia has been able to circumvent international sanctions on its oil industry via UK-based companies providing shipping and selling of gas internationally [4] 
  • Ukraine’s workers’ movement, climate and ecological movement and other social movements have continued to wage struggles for democracy and social justice within the country, against the Ukrainian government’s neoliberal policies – while supporting and participating in Ukraine’s defence against Russian imperialism. Recent months have, despite wartime conditions, even seen major and successful youth-led protests against corruption and for democratic rights. [5][6] 
  • Various UK political parties, including Reform UK, the Conservative Party and even now the Labour Party have worked to dismantle the UK’s systems of refugee protection and access. This includes attempts at dismantling the Wales Nation of Sanctuary Scheme [7] 
  • Precarity in visa and asylum status places barriers in front of children and young adults in gaining access to primary, secondary and Higher education [8] 

The Young Greens believe that: 

  • It is fundamentally wrong to wage wars of territorial expansion. 
  • The Ukrainian people, through their elected representatives, must have final say on any peace deal; it is not the right of Britain, Russia, the USA or other nations to dictate terms in the negotiation of a long-term peace. 
  • Russia’s actions are an extension of imperialist control, denying the rights of self-determination to the Ukrainian people.  
  • International Justice and Human rights should be enforced  both by providing sanctuary to those fleeing War and prosecuting War Criminals  
  • The UK government should close loopholes which have allowed Russia to continue supplying fossil fuels and goods seized from occupied territory to international markets.
  • The UK can learn valuable lessons from Ukraine and its people, both for the strengthening of UK democratic practice internally and for the UK’s international diplomatic efforts via adapting lessons learned from the conflict to aid conflict recovery elsewhere. 
  • The UK and other nations have a duty to provide safe and legal routes of Refuge to all people fleeing from conflict, and also provide support to those who have secured asylum to integrate into their place of refuge.   

The Young Greens resolve:  

  • To call on GPC and Green Party Parliamentarians to work alongside Ukrainian organisations and Trade Unions in the UK, and Green parties and left-wing parties in Ukraine and other countries (including,where possible, Russian anti-imperialist and progressive parties) to pressure the UK government into providing further aid for Ukraine  
  • To call on the government protect routes of asylum into the UK and protect schemes to help asylum seekers integrate into their local areas (E.G: The Nation of Sanctuary Scheme, among others), and to work to provide visa stability and certainty in status to all refugees so they can gain access to long term study 
  • To call on the government to close sanction loopholes and impose stronger sanctions on the Russian state, complicit corporate organisations and individuals.  
  • To call on the UK government to use frozen Russian assets to fund humanitarian supply provision and a just transition to Net-zero for Ukraine. 
  • To call for the twinning between UK and Ukrainian municipalities to share support, experience and expertise.  
  • To work with Ukrainian social movements (Climate justice, Trade Union, LGBTQ+ liberation movements, etc.) to build solidarity and to develop campaigns to combat inequality and environmental devastation at home and abroad. 
  • To work with the Green Ukraine Solidarity network and with Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, the left-wing, union-based UK campaign in support of Ukraine and its social movements.

References: 

[1] www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/ukraine 

[2] www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/eastern-europe-and-central-asia/ukraine/report-ukraine

[3] apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6 

[4] www.intereconomics.eu/contents/year/2023/number/4/article/toughening-financial-sanctions-on-russia.html 

[5] baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/Ukraine%20AC%20progress%20report_July%202025_eng.pdf 

[6] kyivindependent.com/veto-the-law-wartime-protests-sweep-ukraine-after-parliament-passes-bill-weakening-anti-corruption-institutions

[7] willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/outrageous-welsh-conservative-hypocrisy 

[8] Summary of “Displaced Ukrainians in the UK panel” available from [here]

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