Wrexham’s MP hopefuls give their views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Candidates looking for your support have been invited to share their views on a range of issues.

As part of our election coverage ahead of the poll on Thursday we asked all candidates a range of questions, with a theme based collection from all candidates below. You can also read individual answers to all the questions here on our Election 24 page, plus links to party manifesto, supplied bios for candidates and links to find out where exactly your polling station is!

Question: What is your view on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and what future path would you like the UK Parliament to take?

The Green Party is a peaceful Party. It can never support any country or organisation who seek to achieve it’s aims through force. The Green Party will always seek to de-escalate the conflict in the short term, and pursue peaceful and lasting resolutions in the long term.

In any moment of conflict, it is critical to separate the people from the decisions and actions of those in power. Those in power must be held to account; and the people must be supported with sympathy, respect, and aid.

Western governments looked the other way when Russia invaded Crimea back in 2014 and this undoubtedly emboldened Putin to launch a full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. I think it’s almost inconceivable that such a barbaric war should be taking place in Europe in the 21st century.
I believe that many politicians have made the mistake of thinking that the Russian regime can somehow be reasoned with, and as a result the western response has been half hearted. Sadly, I believe that president Putin responds only to a show of force and so I would urge the next parliament to provide more assistance to the Ukrainian government to help them liberate their country.
We also need to think about what Ukraine will need to rebuild its shattered infrastructure once the war is finally over, and I will be pressing for the UK to be generous in assisting Ukraine’s eventual reconstruction.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is completely unacceptable and should never have happened – it is a symptom of the failure of international institutions and diplomacy. I believe that the UK should maintain its steadfast support for Ukraine and its people to help them liberate their country and bring an end to the conflict that is devastating too many lives. The UK should work with its allies across the world to hold Putin to account for his actions but also to bring the war to an end – and then help the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country and their lives.

When Russia first invaded Ukraine there was an outpouring of support from all the countries of the UK. Politically they were supported by both Westminster in London and the Senedd here in Wales. Ordinary people came together and rallied around donating much needed essentials – toiletries, nappies, dried foods, clothes. I volunteered at the warehouse on the industrial estate sorting through the donated items and packing them ready to go to Ukraine. The sheer amount of stuff was overwhelming; lorry after lorry after lorry coming in from all over the UK.
I think we need to continue our support of the Ukraine but we also need to look at the disparity between the support offered to Ukraine and the support offered to Palestine.
We have a situation where innocent civilians are being killed daily, their children are being killed in their thousands, they are being herded into refugee camps which are then
being bombed, their hospitals are being targeted, there is mass starvation, inhumane conditions. And still the leaders of the two of our main UK political parties are refusing to give their full support to Palestine and continue to try and justify and condone these atrocities.

No response to our Q&A has been received.

Having served in the army in the 80’s, I was a ‘Cold War Warrior’. I know what it is like to serve our country and am proud to be a veteran. As a result, I have spent the last four and a half years in Parliament passionate about defence. I have been a Minister at the Ministry of Defence and served on the Defence Select Committee since my election in 2019.
The war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as the rising tensions between China and Taiwan means that the world has not been this unstable since World War Two. The UK’s defence is more important than ever.
Putin’s illegal invasion will not stop at the borders of Ukraine. There is war in Europe and Ukraine are fighting on our behalf. I am proud that the UK is leading the way globally, and has provided over £12 billion of aid to Ukraine since Putin’s invasion in 2022.
Our commitment to Ukraine must remain unwavering, as it has been under the UK Conservative Government. We need to be realistic about the future risks to our nation. However, Labour won’t commit to raising the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP within the foreseeable future. To make matters worse, 13 members of Labour’s front bench voted against the UK’s nuclear deterrent. In these dangerous and unstable times, you need to ask yourself if Labour is truly committed to our nation’s defence?

Fully support the current position and measures being taken and would support this until Russia’s invasion has been stopped.

You can read more Q&A answers here on our Election 24 page along with more election information – remember to GO VOTE ON THURSDAY!

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