Interview: Newbury MP Lee Dillon shares experiences visiting Ukraine for third anniversary of Russian invasion
Newbury MP Lee Dillon visited Ukraine this week as part of an MP delegation to mark the three-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.
He was forced to take cover in bomb shelters for hours and was unable to give details of his movements for security concerns.
But he shared his experiences with newburytoday on his return to the UK last night (Tuesday).
How were you affected by the air raids?
Mr Dillon said: “I think it was about 11pm on Sunday. I was literally about to get into bed and then suddenly the phones went off.
“We had downloaded an app and if there's an air alert in that region, your phone sounded.
“My phone went off and then the tannoys in the hotel directed us to the shelter.”
The shelter was a car park underneath the hotel, open to everyone. Additional intel from Telegram told him five Shahed drones were flying overhead.
“We just sat downstairs waiting for the all clear.
“You could hear the drones being taken out, often just by normal sort of machine gunfire.
“One struck a residential apartment quite close to us.
“I didn’t tell my children where I was, but I spoke to them every day.
“When we first went into the shelter, I didn’t message my wife.
“But I messaged my father in case anything happened so that someone in the family knew where I was.”
He continued: “Every night, particularly from Kyiv going east, they have a siren going off, although the Ukrainians have done a brilliant job at increasing their air defences since the start of the war.
“But it’s quite clearly just terrorism now.
“It’s trying to disrupt civil society by launching these drones.”
Mr Dillon added the drone attacks intensified on the third anniversary of the war (Monday, February 24).
Watch the moment he was forced to enter a bomb shelter just as Ukrainian MPs were about to vote on a motion to condemn Russian aggression below.
What is the attitude of the Ukrainian people to the war, particularly after President Donald Trump’s defamatory remarks towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Last week, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of being a “dictator” for “refusing to have elections”.
Elections have been suspended in Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities. Churchill did the same in the Second World War.
Mr Dillon said: “The more I’ve reflected on my trip and the conversations I’ve had, it makes me feel this is potentially a repeat of the build up to World War Two.
“The Ukrainian/Russian border is our border too, and we can’t allow Russia to take over Ukraine.
“Britain, France and the rest of Europe need to step up and contribute.”
He continued: “[The Ukrainians] are very thankful for British support.
“We had a meeting with the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament.
“He thanked us for the economic and humanitarian aid we have given.
“Just like any society, when war is upon you, you have to change.
“But they are extremely resilient.
“And they are committed to the fight to maintain Ukrainian sovereignty.
“They are prepared to fight to the end if they have to. They will not surrender.
“Fifteen-year-olds are being taught how to assemble AK-47s.
“They play laser tag and put targets on their foreheads to improve their accuracy.
“Some of these children were five when it started [the annexation of Crimea in 2014]. All they have known is Russian aggression.”
But he was also surprised by some of the scenes he saw, as he explained:
“I think when you think of a country at war, you assume more will stop than what it does.
“But you could be walking around in the daytime in Lviv or Kyiv and apart from seeing some more military personnel and some sandbags on public buildings and some checkpoints, you wouldn’t necessarily know you were at war.”
And would you support a British military presence in Ukraine?
Britain and France have discussed divisive plans to deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of a European ‘reassurance force’.
And just yesterday (Tuesday), Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced UK defence spending would increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP (the total annual value of goods and services) by 2027 – funded by cuts to foreign aid.
Mr Dillon said: “I absolutely support the principle. There are real operational issues.
“And I absolutely welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement. But I’m not sure that [figure] would be enough, to be honest.
“They’re a strategically important nation. We need to work with the Ukrainian defence industry and take contracts off of them that in turn invest into their economy.”
He added: “We asked the speaker of the parliament [Ruslan Stefanchuk, who is in line to take over if President Zelenskyy is killed] what message he had to the Ukrainian people who are in the UK?
“Obviously, we have 600 in the Newbury area.
“And he said they miss them; they think about them every day and they want them to come back to play their part in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“He said they’re happy they’re safe, but their motherland is waiting for them to return.”
The trip, organised by UK Friends of Ukraine, focused on aid delivery, recovery and innovation and strengthening UK-Ukraine relations.
Mr Dillon travelled to Poland on Friday (February 21) and then crossed the border into the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
He visited a drone manufacturer and met veterans and amputees at Saint Luka Unbroken Municipal Hospital. He then travelled at night to Kyiv by train.
On Monday (the anniversary of the conflict) he laid a candle at a service at the Memorial for Fallen Heroes, attended by President Zelenskyy, who met briefly.
After that, they visited the Ukrainian Parliament, where a resolution was passed against Russian aggression to mark the third anniversary.
A meeting with the human rights commissioner of Ukraine also focused on prisoner of war exchanges and the return of stolen Ukrainian children.
