On Wednesday, 7 January at 5pm, a protest took place outside the headquarters of the UK Conservative Party under the slogan “No to business as usual with Putin’s oligarchs”, organised by UK civil society groups Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, Campaign for Ukraine and Vsesvit.

The protest also drew support from Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington: 

“I spoke tonight about the conflict of interest at the top of the Conservative Party, where the Shadow Attorney General is simultaneously advising Kemi Badenoch and Shadow Ministers, and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. He cannot continue to do both jobs… He is clearly unable to do both jobs.”

Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensingtonії

The campaign and public outcry have already had an impact in Westminster. During Prime Minister’s Questions on 7 January, Labour leader Keir Starmer directly challenged Kemi Badenoch, leader of Conservative Party, over the Abramovich case, asking how someone could sit in the shadow cabinet advising on sanctions against Russia while representing a sanctioned oligarch in court. Starmer emphasised that the UK wants the proceeds from the Chelsea FC sale to go to Ukraine — and criticised the continuation of Lord Wolfson’s dual roles as inconsistent with that policy. 

In response to Keir Starmer’s remarks, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch defended Lord Wolfson’s position, stating that he had formally recused himself from advising on matters related to Ukraine and Russia due to his role representing Roman Abramovich in court, and that this is standard practice, separate from the shadow cabinet. She also stressed that the Conservatives support releasing and transferring the proceeds of the Chelsea FC sale to Ukraine: “Lord Wolfson has recused himself from advising the Conservatives on Ukraine and Russia, as is standard practice… we want to see those funds get out and get to Ukraine as soon as possible,” Badenoch’s press office noted.

For this reason, the organisers and signatories of the joint statement published a day earlier, on 6 January, in The Times — representing Ukrainian and British civil society organisations — emphasise the need to maintain public and media attention on the matter and to prevent similar conflicts of interest in the future.

CONTEXT:

The initiative is aimed at condemning the actions of Shadow Attorney General for the House of Lords, Lord Wolfson, who is representing sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in court. Abramovich is currently seeking to unfreeze billions in UK jurisdictions — doing so with the help of leading political and legal figures in Britain.
Over £5.3bn of his assets have been frozen on Jersey — virtually his entire wealth under sanction. Of this, £2.35bn came from the sale of Chelsea Football Club, but Abramovich’s legal team is attempting to block £1.4bn (around 60%) from being transferred to charitable causes, including support for Ukraine.
The remaining funds are also at risk: in December 2025, the UK government stated it would seek a court order to direct the money to Ukraine — but legal delays and political pressure now threaten to derail this and undermine a just outcome.

“Against the backdrop of daily Russian missile strikes on Ukraine, mass blackouts, the destruction of infrastructure and the abduction of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children, it is outrageous that sanctioned oligarchs are being allowed to challenge frozen assets. While Russia commits genocide against the Ukrainian people, a key British politician responsible for party legal policy chooses to represent someone from Putin’s circle — signalling a return to business as usual with Russia and normalising blatant violations of international law”

Olena Ivashchenko, co-organiser of the London action and leader of Campaign for Ukraine.

“I have just returned from a humanitarian mission in war-torn Ukraine, and what is happening around Abramovich in the UK is shameful. Ukrainians are living under constant attack, yet instead of supporting them, some political forces in Britain allow sanctioned oligarchs to manipulate the justice system and evade contributing to those suffering from the war. We must fight for justice and ensure Ukrainian voices are not ignored”

 Christopher Ford, protest organiser and secretary of Ukraine Solidarity Campaign.

On 6 January, The Times published a joint statement from UK and Ukrainian organisations calling for Lord Wolfson to be removed from the Shadow Cabinet over his representation of sanctioned oligarch Abramovich. The issue has also been covered by The Mirror.

In their joint statement, the civil society organisations call on:

• The Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch — to remove Lord Wolfson from the Shadow Cabinet.
• The Labour Government — to adopt emergency legislation preventing sanctioned individuals and the Russian Federation from exploiting the UK legal system for their own benefit.
• To ensure that all frozen Russian assets are transferred to support Ukraine.

Список організацій-підписантів:

• Campaign for Ukraine; 
• Ukraine Solidarity Campaign;
• Ukrainian Association of Wales;
• Vsesvit Ukraine solidarity collective; 
• Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine;
• Voices for Ukraine UK; 
• Ukraine Pride;
• Association of Ukrainians of Great Britain;
• Reading Ukraine Community Centre;
• Ukraine Solidarity Project;
• Dawn Dew Charitable Fund;
• Communities Army of Ukraine;
• International Centre for Ukrainian Victory ICUV;
• Price of Freedom;
• ANTS Network.