Last week I hosted a public meeting in the Duke of Wellington in Cowbridge on the Ukraine War. The meeting was well attended and the response from the public in support of Ukraine was impressive. I was also able to share the discussion of a meeting I had been part of with the Ukraine Ambassador.
The reality is that there is no good outcome to this conflict. Along with a speech I made in parliament, I am concerned that victory for Putin could embolden him, and the risk of his defeat could elevate the law to unthinkable levels.
Our meeting had two themes for discussion: the first was on NATO and UK response, and the majority of time was spent on how we as a community can play our part in supporting Ukraine and families fleeing war.
Under the first theme, we discussed that the UK and US are the two largest donors of military equipment to support Ukraine. We also considered the risks of imposing a No-Fly Zone. The UK is also the second-largest (after the US) of support via non-lethal, humanitarian aid.
We then spent the most time discussing the refugee crisis which has seen almost ten million Ukrainian families flee their country. Having met the Ukrainian Ambassador, Vadym Prystaiko in London last week I spoke of the great challenges that he outlined in Ukraine’s future efforts to rebuild the country after the invasion, which will be severely hampered by losing up to a quarter of their population who have fled over the border.
We were privileged to have a brief presentation from Pamela Haines, Dale Gooding of Croeso Cowbridge, and Leslie Cox of Croeso Llantwit, who shared their experiences of hosting displaced Syrian families recently.
This part of the meeting was enlightening, and it candidly outlined to the residents the challenges and experiences of hosting displaced families from war-torn countries. I want to thank Pamela, Dale and Leslie for attending and sharing their invaluable knowledge.
Each outlined how to access benefits, hire interpreters, educational requirements, DBS checks amongst other challenges that arose from hosting displaced families. The response to the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme has been amazing across the country and this was reflected within the meeting with many residents stating that they have already signed up.
I agreed with many residents that the initial Home Office reaction has been slow to the crisis but that the Governments response since has delivered the most open and supportive package of any country across Europe.
Questions to the floor were very diverse but hugely positive in their response and will to support Ukraine families in different ways.
I hope that all who attended left feeling more informed, especially regarding the experiences around housing a Ukrainian family.
If you wish to ask any questions on this please email me at [email protected]. Alternatively, I am hosting a further meeting on the topic in Barry on Wednesday, March 23 at Brynhill Golf Club at 18:00.
All Vale residents are welcome to attend.
