Jack Lopresti is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected Deputy Chairman of the Tories in February 2023 and served as MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke from 2010 to 2024. He is also a British Army reservist and was deployed in Helmand province, Afghanistan, for five months between 2008 and 2009. After losing his seat, Lopresti abandoned his political career to join the Ukrainian Army.
You were an MP for 14 years until last July, and in November he applied to join the International Legion of Ukraine. What led you to this decision?
I spent the last couple of years when I was in Parliament helping Ukraine. My former constituency did the procurement for our military, the UK military, and also the Ukrainian military – all was organized from there. So, I traveled to Ukraine regularly and there was a period that I came almost every month to do what I can to help, and I thought, because the political climate was changing and that things were getting difficult for my party, that there was a prospect in case that I was not reelected, going to Ukraine to join the military and serving.
The last speech I made, if I remember correctly, was about Ukraine, and I said that the defence of the UK starts in Ukraine. This war is hard and important, but it is not only a struggle for the survival and existence of Ukraine, it is also the front line of peace, security and democracy for Europe and the Western world wider. Everything is connected: we have China, Iran, North Korea forming an axis with Russia, and we can see this alliance in effect here in Ukraine.
What is your work in the International Legion?
When I volunteered I applied as a soldier and was happy to do whatever they ask, and soon they were interested in my background in politics and international diplomacy. So, what they said is that I focused on three things: international relations, diplomacy and weapons procurement. I am also a Patron for Veterans’ Rehabilitation Program of a charity based in the UK, called Ukrainian Action, which organices convoys of vehicles with medical supplies and other things from the Carpathians and has been doing so regularly since February 2022, when the war started. So I have a lot of work to do focused on these three aspects.
What do you think of the UK’s role in supporting Ukraine?
I think that right from the outset we have leading and shaping world opinión. Boris Johnson clearly saw the danger and during his administration wrote articles and made speeches warning of Putin’s goals: the restoration of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. So we understood very clearly what the threat was to Europe and the rest of the free world, but in addition there is a moral dimension because we remember collectively as a nation that in 1940 we faced a very similar challenge: defend freedom, your own existence and survival. Ukraine is a democracy and a sovereign country, that means something and it must be protected, it should not be taken for granted.
However, the decision making in Europe regarding support for Ukraine is very slow, often it is months or even years, despite the daily Russian shelling of the civilian population. I understand that being in Ukraine, this is very difficult to understand.
I am based in Kyiv most of the time and in the last few weeks I have had to go down every night to the shelter because of the Shahed and Russian missile attacks, and don’t forget that many Ukrainians have been living this situation for months and years. It is completely intolerable. In perspective, Putin is committing war crimes every day by attacking the civilian population and, in the face of that, the European response is being too slow. A real sense of urgency is needed because people are dying every day, more action and less wishes and statements.
Is this delay in decision making a consequence of a lack of leadership?
It is partly for that reason, but I also think it is due to a lack of awareness of what is really going on. When foreign dignitaries and politicians come to Kyiv, they come on a train with all kinds of comforts and stay in the capital lodged in good hotels. To understand this war you have to travel a few hundred kilometers further east, see the field hospitals and hear the guns on the front line; then you can feel that sense of urgency.
We have seen Donald Trump’s idea of “peace through strength” applied in Iran, however, with Russia there is a policy of appeasement.
Everyone wants peace, but peace at any price means surrender. It angers me and turns my stomach to hear some American politicians equating Russia with Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor and commits war crimes, and should be dealt with harshly by the U.S. and the rest of the world, just as it is with Iran.
Look, I am inspired on a daily basis by the resilience and the fortitude of the Ukrainian people. I think President Trump does not understand that the Ukrainians, and people like myself, will fight and not surrender. We will not be defeated. Ukraine is not losing and it is doing a magnificent job. Despite the aerial bombardments, Putin’s daily war crimes and the terrible fighting, Ukrainians are holding the front lines and the integrity of their country. They must be supported.
What does Ukraine need?
Ukraine needs above all more means of defense, and actually I am looking to procure C Ram air defences. It need long range weapons and we have already seen recently that they do it very successfully, but they need more. They need more equipment, more missiles and the capability to produce our weaponry in Ukraine itself. Europe is doing more collectively than the United States, but it must do more and quickly. It is urgent, action is needed.
Do you think the option of deploying European troops in Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement is feasible?
It is not worth talking about peacekeeping forces when there is no peace to keep. We have to go step by step. Let’s win the war, let’s kick the Russians out of Ukraine and then we can talk about keeping the peace. A few days ago I was at an event with Ukrainian defense manufacturers called “Reconstruction and Recovery,” and I said to them, “hold on a minute. The war is still raging. Let’s win the war, that’s the most important thing. Ukraine must remain a free and sovereign nation.” In my opinion, only once that is settled we can talk about reconstruction and peacekeeping.
