Ukraine Support for NATO Allies 2022-11-07
2022-11-07
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The question pertains to the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its support for NATO allies.
What steps is his Department taking to support NATO allies in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
The United Kingdom has provided substantial support to NATO allies. We temporarily doubled our enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Estonia, with additional enhancements to that battlegroup planned for the longer term. We deployed an aviation taskforce to Lithuania, are contributing to NATO air activity across Europe, are supporting air-to-air refuelling and have bolstered our presence in Poland, as well as Army activity in Bulgaria and Romania.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The question follows up on the previous one, focusing on the UK's commitment to defend every inch of NATO territory including Sweden and Finland.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that our increased deployments show that we remain fully committed to defending every inch of NATO territory, as well as Sweden and Finland?
My hon. Friend invites me to make two points. First, one of Putin's greatest failures of the past nine months is how he has reinvigorated the NATO alliance and restored the raison d'être of article 5. Secondly, through their work with many of our allies across the Baltic, the Nordic countries and the high north, our armed forces increasingly have environmental expertise on NATO's northern flank.
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Assessment & feedback
The questioner asked for explicit agreement but the answer provided general statements about the reinvigoration of NATO without confirming direct commitment to Sweden and Finland.
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The question addresses the impact of Ukraine's invasion on NATO members' defence plans, specifically questioning the necessity of further Army cuts.
Would it not be absurd to cut the Army any further when Ukraine and our NATO allies are facing such clear and rising hostility? Can he tell us which cuts he wants to reverse?
The integrated review is indeed being refreshed—quite rightly, because in the past nine months we have seen war in Europe and growing belligerence by China in the far east. Exactly what the shape of our nation's armed forces must look like must be a consequence of those new threats.
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Assessment & feedback
The questioner asked about specific cuts to reverse but the answer provided context for refreshing the integrated review without addressing specific Army cuts.
Response accuracy