{"id":992414,"date":"2026-05-29T14:33:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/992414\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:33:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:33:23","slug":"lindsay-whittle-backs-ukraine-flag-at-senedd-despite-reform-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/992414\/","title":{"rendered":"Lindsay Whittle backs Ukraine flag at Senedd despite Reform criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"SeneddThe Senedd<\/p>\n

A Senedd Member has rallied to support Ukrainians living in Wales, amid calls for their flag to be removed from outside the Senedd.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>, forcing millions of people to flee the country.<\/p>\n

The Ukraine flag currently flies outside the Welsh Parliament, along with the Welsh and UK flags, in a show of solidarity.<\/p>\n

However, Reform\u2019s Senedd finance spokesperson, Cai Parry-Jones, described flying the flag as \u201cvirtue signalling\u201d. <\/p>\n

He did however say he supported the people of Ukraine against Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has also gone on record saying \u201cno foreign flags\u201d will be flown on public buildings under a Reform government \u2013 with Reform-run councils in England, including Essex, taking Ukraine flags down.<\/p>\n

Casnewydd Islwyn MS Dan Thomas, who leads Reform in Wales, has also backed calls for the flag to be removed, and told BBC Wales that solidarity can be shown \u201cwithout flying the flags\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ReformReform UK\u2019s leader in Wales, Dan Thomas<\/p>\n

But, their demands have been blasted by Plaid Cymru\u2019s Lindsay Whittle, who said this \u201cshows just how out of touch Reform are with the overwhelming majority of Welsh people who are in support of\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s brave fight against Russian invaders\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Whittle, who represents the Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni constituency, \u201cunequivocally\u201d supports the flag being flown, and said: \u201cWe should stand up against Putin and his regime who are constantly shelling innocent people in Ukraine \u2013 and flying the flag is a show of support for their fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be much better for everyone if Reform Senedd Members refrained from trying to stir things up at every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PlaidLinsday Whittle, Plaid Cymru MS for Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni<\/p>\n

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, has also voiced his support for keeping the Ukrainian flag flying at the Senedd.<\/p>\n

Reform\u2019s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, is currently serving a ten-year jail sentence<\/a> for taking pro-Russian bribes.<\/p>\n

\u2018Not just a flag\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yuliia Bond, a Ukrainian refugee living in Caerphilly, contacted Mr Whittle for support following the comments from Mr Parry-Jones and Mr Thomas.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many Ukrainians living in Wales, this flag is not just a flag,\u201d explained Ms Bond, who moved from the city of Marhanets to Caerphilly in 2022<\/a> with her two children.<\/p>\n

\"YuliaYulia and son Roland in Cardiff for the 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Wales and Ukraine<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I write this, my hometown in Ukraine is facing evacuation. My mother is there. Every day begins with fear, checking messages, checking if loved ones are alive, checking if home still exists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war may be disappearing from headlines, but for us it has not disappeared for a single day. If anything, lately it feels even more terrifying. People are exhausted. Families are exhausted. Soldiers are exhausted. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter more than four years of war, solidarity means more than ever, because many Ukrainians increasingly feel the world is slowly turning away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why the Ukrainian flag outside the Senedd matters so deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Bond recalled sending photos of the flag to family and friends back home, including to a Ukrainian soldier who later died in the war. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing that Wales had not forgotten Ukraine made him smile,\u201d Ms Bond said. \u201cIt reminded him that somewhere, far away, people still cared whether Ukrainians lived or died.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cSo when people call for that flag to be taken down, many Ukrainians do not hear a debate about buildings or protocol. We hear something much more painful \u2013 perhaps people are tired of us now. Perhaps they want to move on while we are still living this nightmare.<\/p>\n

And the heartbreaking thing is that keeping the flag there takes nothing away from Wales. It costs ordinary people nothing. It harms nobody. It simply says: we still see you, and we have not forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Senedd Cymru<\/p>\n

Stuart Mitchell<\/p>\n

LDRS<\/p>\n

Yulia Bond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Support quality, independent, local journalism\u2026that mattersFrom just \u00a31 a month you can help fund our work \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":992415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7654],"tags":[275602,252192,2000,299,275603,386,33595,657,753,275604],"class_list":["post-992414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ukraine","tag-cai-parry-jones","tag-dan-thomas","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-lindsay-whittle","tag-reform-uk","tag-senedd","tag-ukraine","tag-ukraine-war","tag-yuliia-bond"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116658360282867484","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/992415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}