4 Mar Meeting at the Parliament

RUSSIAN TROOP OUT! OCCUPATION IS NOT PEACE.

4 Mar '26

Wilson Room, Portcullis House (Parliament)

Four years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians are living in bombed cities and freezing homes, but their resistance is unbowed. The UK workers’ movement stands in solidarity.

The Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and John McDonnell MP hosted a meeting and discussion on 4 March at Portcullis House in Parliament to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people and to discuss how the UK can step up its support, including through demands on the UK government.

Speakers included:

Andrea Egan, General Secretary, UNISON
Mick Antoniw, Member of Senedd for Pontypridd, Wales
Yuliya Yurchenko, Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine
Yuliia Bond, Community Lead, Ukrainian Association of Wales
Tanya Vyhovsky, Vermont (USA) State Senator
Mariia Pastukh, Vsesvit – Ukraine Solidarity Collective, London
Johanna Baxter, MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South
Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South
Stephen Russell, TUC International Officer
Mick Whelan, former ASLEF General Secretary
Kate Jones, Green Party of England & Wales Trade Union Liaison Officer
John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington
Christopher Ford, Ukraine Solidarity Campaign

Mariia Pastukh (Vsesvit) spoke about the urgent need to maintain and strengthen international support for Ukraine. She warned that weak international responses in the past enabled Russia’s escalation and stressed that civilians and prisoners must remain at the centre of any discussion of peace.

She also highlighted the ongoing detention and persecution of workers from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, calling for support for the campaign and petition by the detained workers’ relatives demanding their release.