LONDON

A former Conservative Party lawmaker has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to help in the fight against Russia, according to media reports on Monday.

Jack Lopresti, a former Tory MP who lost his seat at the general election last year, joined Ukraine’s foreign legion after traveling to Ukraine to help a charity two months ago.


Lopresti, a former deputy chair of the Conservative Party who was previously the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke in Gloucestershire, also served in the UK Army Reserve as a corporal.


Speaking to The Independent after volunteering to serve in the Ukrainian military, the 55-year-old said that his intention was to join the International Legion when he arrived in Ukraine to help a charity work in November.

Noting that he indeed applied to join the legion back in November, Lopresti, however, said that it took a while "to find the best unit to utilize" his experience.

According to The Independent, the former MP is not in a frontline infantry unit but is carrying out support work.

"I’m based in Kyiv, but I constantly travel across Ukraine," he said, adding that in the past week, he had been to the cities of Kharkiv and Poltava in eastern Ukraine.


Lopresti said that it is a "huge honour and an immense privilege" for him to serve in the Ukrainian forces.