Former deputy chair of the Conservative Party Jack Lopresti has given his first interview to The Independent after volunteering to serve in the Ukrainian military.
A former Tory MP who lost his seat at the general election last year has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to help in the fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Jack Lopresti, a former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, was previously the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke in Gloucestershire, but is now based in Kyiv using his skills in the ongoing war.
As an MP, Mr Lopresti visited Ukraine and was a strong advocate in parliament for more aid to be given to Volodymyr Zelensky to support the country’s efforts to defeat Russia. He has also served in the UK Army Reserve as a corporal.
After losing his seat in July as part of the Tory wipeout across the UK, Mr Lopresti travelled to Ukraine to help a charity in November.
However, the former MP told The Independent that his intention then had been to join the International Legion.
He said: “I did apply to join the legion in November. It took a while to find the best unit to utilise my experience and skills.”
The 55-year-old is not in a frontline infantry unit but is carrying out support work. His military duties and focus include foreign relations and diplomacy, weapons procurement, and some work with veterans and with charities operating in Ukraine.
He told The Independent: “I’m based in Kyiv, but I constantly travel across Ukraine,” adding that in the past week he had been to the cities of Kharkiv and Poltava in the country’s east.
He said: “It is a huge honour and an immense privilege for me to serve in the Ukrainian military and be able to help the gallant and amazing Ukrainian people in any way I can.
“They are not only fighting for their freedom and their right to exist as a independent and sovereign nation, they are also fighting for all of us, in Europe and the rest of the free world. If Putin wins in Ukraine, we all know he won’t stop there. Dictators have to be defeated, or they never stop.
“The ramifications would also be enormous for the rest of the world, particularly in places like Taiwan. With the authoritarian axis of dictatorships, China, Iran, and North Korea, on the march and clearly working together, Ukraine has to be supported and given the tools to win for all of our sakes.”
Mr Lopresti said the Ukrainians are still very much up for the fight, almost three years after Putin launched his invasion on 24 February 2022.
He said: “They are very determined indeed. Morale is high. A very resolute feeling.”
With Donald Trump planning to try to bring the conflict to a swift end by negotiating a deal, Mr Lopresti said Ukrainians are now waiting to see what the outcome will be.
He said: “I think we are all waiting with interest [to see] what comes from the US administration, in an optimistic way.”
The law recently changed to allow non-Ukrainians to become officers in the country’s army, meaning Mr Lopresti could be one of the first, though he says the paperwork regarding his rank is currently being processed.
The Foreign Office has warned that joining the Ukrainian International Legion is illegal, although it is not clear if this applies to non-combat volunteers. So far the government has not tried to enforce the law, with scores of British volunteers heading to the conflict to serve.
The danger, though, has been highlighted by British volunteers being killed or captured by the Russians. Even as Mr Lopresti travelled out to Ukraine in November, another volunteer – reported to be James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, a former British army soldier – was captured.
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