London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 01, 2026

Ukraine crisis: Give Russia-linked donations to charities, Labour MP says

Ukraine crisis: Give Russia-linked donations to charities, Labour MP says

The Conservative Party should give donations by a former Russian minister's wife to Ukrainian charities, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been told.

Lubov Chernukhin has donated about £2m to the Tories since 2012.

Electoral Commission figures show she personally donated another £80,250 in late 2021.

The Conservative Party said she is a British citizen with a "democratic right to donate to a political party".

Mrs Chernukhin's lawyers told the BBC she does not have any comment to make regarding her donations, which are a matter of public record.

They have previously said her "donations to the Conservative Party have never been tainted by Kremlin or any other influence".

In recent public comments reported in the media, Mrs Chernukhin condemned "all Russian military aggression in Ukraine" and called for the "strongest possible sanctions against Putin's regime and its enablers".

"I remain hopeful that the UK and its global allies will continue to stand up to the Kremlin and to protect Ukraine and its people, now engulfed in the horrors of war," Mrs Chernukhin was quoted as saying.

Mrs Chernukhin and her husband, Vladimir Chernukhin, are both British citizens and are entitled to donate to UK political parties and vote in elections.

Mr Chernukhin, 53, a former deputy minister of finance under President Vladimir Putin left Russia for London in 2004 after being sacked by the president.

Since Mr Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine last week, the Conservative Party has been criticised for accepting donations from people with links to Russia.

Labour MP Bill Esterson drew attention to Mrs Chernukhin's donations to the Conservative Party during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

Figures released by the Electoral Commission on Wednesday show Mrs Chernukhin made two donations last year - £13,750 in October and £66,500 in December.

Mr Esterson asked Mr Johnson if he would instruct the Conservative Party to hand her donations to Ukrainian humanitarian causes.

Mr Esterson said: "I know he doesn't want to tar everyone with Russian links with the same brush and neither do I, but leaked documents show that Vladimir Chernukhin received eight million US dollars from a Russian member of parliament, an ally of Putin who was later sanctioned by the United States.

"This is an opportunity for the Conservative Party and for the prime minister to end the suspicion of conflict of interests with Putin whilst showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people."

In reply, Mr Johnson said: "It is absolutely vital that if we are to have a successful outcome in what we are trying to do collectively, united with Ukraine, that we demonstrate that this is not about the Russian people, it is about the Putin regime."

In a later statement, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said "dangerous links to Putin's cronies must be rooted out".

"If this government is serious about taking the toughest measures to eradicate Putin's influence in Britain, they must first get their own house in order," she said.


In 2018, Boris Johnson defended a donation to the Conservative Party by Lubov Chernukhin


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
×