Ukraine will not accept ‘stitch-up' deal, says MP turned soldier

Times

25-04-2025

Ukraine will not have a 'stitch-up deal' forced upon it and its armed forces are prepared to carry on fighting without US backing, according to a British former MP turned soldier in Ukraine's military.
Jack Lopresti, who is serving in the International Legion's military intelligence unit as well as in a liaison role helping with weapons procurement, said Donald Trump's ceasefire proposal amounted to 'appeasement' of a dictator.
On a brief visit to London, he said that Ukraine could continue to fight without US equipment as long as Britain and Europe ramped up their military support.
He said: 'They are not going to put up with having a stitch-up deal forced upon them. They are prepared to fight and carry on fighting. The morale is incredibly high; it's astonishing.
'They are fighting for their existence, for their survival, and they are not going to give up any time soon, even if America withdraws.'
Washington's proposal is to recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russia's conquest of a fifth of Ukraine's territory in the east. Kyiv must also accept that membership of Nato is ruled out indefinitely, and hand over immediate control of Ukraine's rare earth resources, as well as its oil and gas industries, to a joint fund from which America could profit.
Trump's administration has already threatened to remove itself from the discussions if the two sides do not agree, raising fears US support for Ukraine could be pulled altogether.
'It's been our worst nightmare what has transpired,' Lopresti said, wearing a fleece inscribed with 'freedom can't be stopped' in Ukrainian. 'I think the deal is pretty disgusting, it's appeasement.
'It basically says if you are a dictator and you take land and you kill people and commit war crimes and kidnap over 20,000 children, as long as you stay put, eventually you will get something and then you can come back for more.'
Lopresti, 55, a father-of-four, spoke to The Times after coming off the phone to friends in Kyiv. He had called them to check they were safe after a deadly Russian missile and drone attack on Wednesday night.
He travelled to Ukraine early this year to join Ukraine's equivalent of the Foreign Legion after losing his parliamentary seat in July last year.
After serving as a reservist in the British Army, which included a deployment to Afghanistan, he was elected MP for Filton & Bradley Stoke, near Bristol, in 2010. He also served as Conservative Party deputy chairman.
During his time as an MP he had stage four bowel cancer but recovered after chemotherapy.
When he signed up to help Ukraine at the end of last year, he had been prepared to fight in the trenches, he said.
Although he generally carries out more of a liaison role to make use of his skills, he has also been deployed to the front line where he has come under Russian drone attack.
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Western officials have recently said that Russia's progress on the battlefield has slowed, although it is still advancing.
Some experts question how long Ukraine could fight on without US support. In March, when the US suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, a senior official said Ukraine could 'last a matter of months, maybe less' without US support.
However, striking a relatively upbeat tone about the challenge Ukraine faces, Lopresti said: 'They are not losing … cities are being smashed, but they are holding the line, they are successfully defending their country.' He believes Britain and Europe could fill any void left by the US if necessary.
He insisted that Ukraine wants peace, ,but was 'not going to be shafted'. He said: 'They are going to remain a sovereign independent country.'
If President Zelensky were to agree to Trump's demands, he would have to change the constitution, which states that Ukraine's sovereignty 'extends throughout its entire territory' which 'within its present border is indivisible and inviolable'.
The former MP said that if there was a frozen conflict, Putin would return again to take more territory. 'The defence of the UK starts in Ukraine,' he warned.
Would he die for Ukraine? 'I'm joining a military of a country at war, fighting for its own survival,' he said. 'I could have been killed last night. You have to be prepared to make those sorts of sacrifices, otherwise there is no point.'