Former Tory MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke Jack Lopresti has joined the Ukrainian International Legion, made up of foreign volunteers, to help in the fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Lopresti was the former deputy chair of the Conservative Party but is now based in Kyiv in the ongoing war.
The 55-year-old visited Ukraine as an MP and advocated for more aid to be given to Volodymyr Zelensky to support the country.
Currently Lopresti is not involved in face-to-face combat, but said he would be willing to fight on the frontline if needed.
The former veteran told The Telegraph: “I am a soldier. If I’m asked and needed to do any particular task, I will do it to the best of my ability. It would be very strange for me to serve in the Ukrainian military and not say this. I am here and I will do my best.”
He added: “I want to support the wonderful, gallant Ukrainian people in their endeavour to remain a separate nation. This is for Europe, this is for freedom and if Putin won, the ramifications for the world would be catastrophic.”
His current position sees him using the skills he built up as an MP to help with weapons procurement, international relations and veterans and charities.
Lopresti said a senior leader in Ukraine contacted him: “He said, ‘Look what we’d really like you to do is what you’ve been doing here… You obviously have a knowledge of international affairs and politics, we’ll create a bespoke position.’
“I guess they wanted to use my experience for the cause. I’m in the military, I’m serving, and I’m working in an area I have a reasonable expertise in,” he stated.
After visiting the country as an MP in February 2023, the former Tory MP was inspired to go out to Ukraine.
“I came out for the first time a couple of years ago for the one-year anniversary [of Russia’s invasion],” he said. “And I got busier and busier, doing more in Ukraine, and about Ukraine, both in Parliament and the constituency, and I just wanted to help.
“About a year ago, I said to myself that if we weren’t successful in my constituency, and I found myself not in Parliament, I was going to come out [to Ukraine] and do whatever I could, whether that be for a charity, an NGO or volunteer.
“Seeing the pressure they were under with manpower and how tough the conflict was, I thought I’d probably end up in the military.”
Labour MP Claire Hazelgrove won Lopresti’s seat in the 2024 General Election, receiving 22,905 votes. Lopresti received 12,905, having been an MP for the constituency since 2010.