Scotland, Wales pan UK govt for 'diverting budget' to raise £1 bn military aid for Ukraine

In a major row between Scotland, Wales and the British government, the former has alleged that the latter has diverted its budgets to Ukraine as military aid without conferring with the concerned ministry. In a statement released by the Wales Government, it said the Welsh are determined to support the Ukrainian people in their brave resistance to Putin’s assault on their sovereignty, independence, and right to self-determination but added it was not right to use their funds for military aid and defence.

"We will continue to provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people, and it is right the UK should continue to provide much-needed military support. However, defence and foreign affairs are reserved matters," Welsh Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said in a statement. 

Evans said this was a novel, worrying and potentially divisive approach by the Treasury – seeking to use devolved budgets. Evans noted the budget should be utilised for investment in devolved areas, like health and education, and added the fund reserved for development purposes should not be spent on areas such as military aid and defence. 

"Ultimately, because of the exceptional circumstances, we have accepted this situation in light of our ongoing commitment to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight against this senseless act of aggression, but it should not be a precedent," she warned.

Scotland raises concerns over Treasury's decision

Meanwhile, similar concerns were also echoed by Scotland. Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said on Wednesday that Scotland agreed to provide the £65 million ($78.7 million) funding but only “on this occasion”. She cautioned that “this must not be seen as any kind of precedent, according to RT News.

Notably, last week, it provided £65 million as a part of UK’s military aid for Ukraine, apart from £4 million ($4.8 million) aid which was provided to fulfil the demands of health, water and sanitation and shelter for Ukrainian refugees. The crucial aid was announced after the Chief Secretary to the Treasury asked devolved authorities to either offer up a contribution or to take a reduction in the consequential provided as a part of the block grant from the UK Government.

It is worth mentioning the United Kingdom has been one of the strongest backers of Ukraine since the onset of the war. Earlier this week, the Boris Johnson-led government promised to provide an additional £1 billion ($1.2 billion) to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, taking the overall military aid given to Kyiv to £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion).

Image: @walesintheworld/Twitter/AP