Rishi Sunak’s government, preparing tax hikes and public service cuts for Britons and undermining energy independence by banning fracking, is bragging that it is the biggest donor to a fund to build up Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Reimposing a ban on fracking for shale gas reversed by Liz Truss was one of Rishi Sunak’s first acts as Prime Minister, signalling he would not let looming blackouts stop him from sacrificing future energy independence to prove he would not deviate from the World Economic Forum (WEF) consensus on net zero.
Despite this, and a looming programme of punishing tax rises and cuts to public services, the government felt the need to boast on Monday that it is currently “the biggest donor to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund”, having already “provided £7 million for over 850 generators” and “a further £5 million for safety and security equipment for the civil nuclear sector,” alongside a “$50 million guarantee for financing for Ukraine’s state-owned energy provider, Ukrenergo, through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development” — this at a time when energy producers in Britain are being threatened with further windfall taxes.
“Russia’s attacks on vital infrastructure show that Putin is resorting to desperate measures. But even in the face of missile attacks and blackouts, the resolve of the Ukrainian people remains unbroken,” commented Britain’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly.
“The Government of Ukraine said it needed specialised energy equipment to repair critical national infrastructure, and the UK is delivering on their request,” he continued, again boasting that “[t]he UK has made the largest donation to date to this Fund.”
“We need all partners to step up their support and show Putin that his attempts to destroy Ukraine will be met with fierce resistance,” he added, offering the merest hint that it may be somewhat excessive for Britain to be making the biggest contribution of any country to Ukraine’s infrastructure when compared to other G20 countries like the United States, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, the first two of which have significantly larger economies than Britain and the last of which has profited handsomely from the war.
The Ukrainian government was pleased, at least, with the country’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, saying that the British government “has been helping Ukraine’s energy sector since the beginning of the Russian invasion… Many thanks to our British partners and the Energy Community Secretariat for the help in the fight against Russia on the energy front.”
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