ISLE of Wight businessman Daniel Williams has vowed to “stick by Ukraine” through a possible Russian invasion.
The investor, currently living in Ukraine, has said he will not be leaving the country to “engender the sense that Britain really sticks by Ukraine”.
Scroll down to watch IW MP Bob Seely talk Russia on Channel 4 News
Mr Williams, 45, is from the Island but now lives in Kyiv with his wife and young daughter, who he plans to fly to Manchester with on Friday – before returning to Ukraine at the beginning of March.
Mr Williams told the Press Assocation: “I’ll probably come back solo. Ukraine doesn’t need another Westerner bailing on her… someone needs to be here to help the economy, which will take a beating now.
“I’ll come back early March and do all I can with my meagre resources to help small business here, to engender the sense that Britain really sticks by Ukraine.”
What's going on inside Ukraine right now?
Mr Williams added he believes there will not be a march on Kyiv, but a “slow strangulation of Ukraine’s economy”.
And despite claims from Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin that UK diplomacy efforts have resulted in no “constructive solutions” to avert war, Mr Williams maintains pro-British sentiment is high among the locals in Ukraine.
“It is higher than I’ve known right now,” he said.
“Whatever officials say, Britain doesn’t get the same vitriol about inaction as the other Western powers if you talk to normal Ukrainians.
“If the UK acts and supports Ukraine there is a huge opportunity for both countries… (and) if Kyiv stands there’s a wide open goal here for the UK in terms of securing future trade and key mineral assets.”
What has Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely said about Ukraine this week?
The Prime Minister warned on Tuesday that Moscow sending troops into the Donbas region under the guise of being “peacekeepers” appears to be the Kremlin “establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive”, with nearly 200,000 troops now amassed on Ukraine’s border.
Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has been talking in Parliament this week about Ukraine.
Mr Seely claimed that the fact the National Crime Agency (NCA) said it is “unable to uphold the law in this country” because of the “wealth of the bad people they want to go after”, is an “extraordinarily serious and bad thing” to be happening.
He said: “One of the most depressing things about the Intelligence and Security report on Russia, was the statement from the NCA (National Crime Agency), where they said that they felt that they were unable at times to take on certain bad, potentially bad actors because those bad actors’ pockets were so deep.
“Now, I’m sorry but if the NCA is saying that they are unable to uphold the law in this country, because of the wealth of the bad people they want to go after, we are knowingly participating in the undermining of the rule of law in this country. And that is an extraordinarily serious and bad thing to be happening.”
Earlier, he spoke about the offshore trust culture in this country, and said: “This tide of dirty money is damaging us. Shadowy offshore trusts, why on earth do we need an offshore trust culture in this country, in what way does that help?
“I know it enriches a few thousand people with fancy bonuses, but in what way does that help our national interest?
“It’s great that Priti Patel has stopped the golden visa scheme, but really, I mean, that horse bolted a long time ago.”
Watch Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely on Channel 4 News
Mr Seely was on Channel 4 news yesterday talking about Russia.
Watch it below
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