Boris Johnson corrected a written answer on Ukraine: Armed Conflict

27 February 2017 · Commons written answer · Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Emily Thornberry (Labour, Islington South and Finsbury) asked written question 63634 on 8 February 2017. Boris Johnson answered on 24 February 2017 for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Boris Johnson corrected the answer on 27 February 2017. The corrected text no longer gives the figure 3,500. Altogether 191 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Ukrainian authorities to provide government services to civilians living in districts under separatist control; and what representations he has made to his Ukrainian counterpart on the provision of services to such civilians.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
~~The Ukrainian authorities estimate~~ that there are up to ~~3500 Russian nationals~~ fighting in eastern Ukraine. We are also aware of reports of a relatively small number of other nationals present in eastern Ukraine. The presence of Russian fighters in Ukraine remains a key obstacle to progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement, which requires the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine.	Given that these territories are not under Government control, there are clear logistical limitations to service provision by the Ukrainian Government to civilians living there. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian Government continues to provide water, heating and energy supplies to non-Government held areas. The UK provides close support to the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons and we welcome the Ukrainian Government’s efforts to pursue further ways to provide support to those in non-Government controlled areas, including by facilitating crossings and the transport of goods across the Line of Contact. However, the best way to secure the provision of services to civilians across the Donbas would be a full and comprehensive ceasefire; ongoing fighting poses a grave threat to vital utilities as well as civilian lives, as seen recently in Avdiivka.

Original

Corrected

~~The Ukrainian authorities estimate~~ that there are up to ~~3500 Russian nationals~~ fighting in eastern Ukraine. We are also aware of reports of a relatively small number of other nationals present in eastern Ukraine. The presence of Russian fighters in Ukraine remains a key obstacle to progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement, which requires the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine.

Given that these territories are not under Government control, there are clear logistical limitations to service provision by the Ukrainian Government to civilians living there. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian Government continues to provide water, heating and energy supplies to non-Government held areas. The UK provides close support to the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons and we welcome the Ukrainian Government’s efforts to pursue further ways to provide support to those in non-Government controlled areas, including by facilitating crossings and the transport of goods across the Line of Contact. However, the best way to secure the provision of services to civilians across the Donbas would be a full and comprehensive ceasefire; ongoing fighting poses a grave threat to vital utilities as well as civilian lives, as seen recently in Avdiivka.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/687033?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`bffafcb80a9a7be5f305c6c2b8e8197add293e4d573d2361ec4df275b89975da`