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An ex-Tory MP who joined the Ukrainian Army has vowed the country won’t bow to Donald Trump’s demands, warning that the army will continue to fight alone if necessary.
Sitting down with The Independent, Jack Lopresti – who joined the International Legion of Ukraine after losing his seat in the 2024 general election - said morale in the army is as high as ever, which he described as “astonishing and inspirational”.
“People need to be aware here that actually, Ukraine isn’t losing. The lines have remained fairly static for two years and, given the scale and the mass of what the Russians were throwing at them, they’re doing an astonishing job in their ability to defend their country.
“I tell you, they are not going to accept anything from Trump which is going to diminish their country and stop them being a free nation. They’ll continue to fight on their own if they have to.”
It comes just two days after the US president accused Volodymyr Zelensky of making it “difficult to settle” the war with Russia over his opposition to recognising Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
The US administration is urging Kyiv to accept Russia’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions and Moscow’s ownership of the Crimean peninsula as part of a peace settlement.
Mr Lopresti, who is serving with the intelligence division, described recent comments by the US president as “bizarre and astonishing”.
“All our worst fears have been confirmed”, he said. “[Trump] just doesn’t seem to care. I don’t think [the US administration] understands that the Ukrainians are going to carry on fighting.
“I don’t think they realise that this cannot be negotiated away and settled arbitrarily. The Ukrainians have got a right to a free existence like everybody else.”
Mr Lopresti warned that, if Putin succeeds in taking Ukraine, hostile countries such as North Korea and Iran will “think they can do what they like” as a “rules based order goes out the window”.
“Ironically, Trump and his team are focusing on China. But if Ukraine falls, it makes it much more likely that the Chinese would try and attack Taiwan”, he explained.
On Thursday, Britain urged Vladimir Putin to agree to a “full and immediate ceasefire without conditions” as it condemned Russia’s “brutal” overnight strike on Kyiv.
It came after at least nine people were killed and more than 70 injured after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital amid further difficulties in peace talks.
Mr Lopresti - whose role involves foreign relations, diplomacy and weapons procurement - also warned that the UK must ramp up its defence spending if Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine will succeed.
“I’m very proud of what the government are doing with the messaging and what they are trying to achieve. But if we are going to be upping our game as well as our European allies, we are going to have to spend a lot more money on defence”, he said.
“Whatever peace comes, it has to be peace through strength. That’s the only way: deterrent. That’s why Nato has been so successful. That’s why the nuclear deterrent has been so successful - because the consequence of any aggression is too high for these countries.”
English (US) ·