A rally in support of Ukraine has been held in Abergavenny as Russia continues its invasion.
Monmouth MP David Davies joined demonstrators on Saturday to show solidarity for the war-torn country. He was invited to attend by local resident Helen Buhaenko.
Mr Davies, who spoke at the event in St John’s Square, said Monmouthshire stood ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees.
But he expressed “disappointment” that “one or two people” tried to turn the rally into an anti-NATO protest.
“I was pleased to support Helen and the Ukrainian community in Abergavenny,” said Mr Davies.
“The whole country is united in outrage at what Putin’s Russia has done in attacking a democratic sovereign state. I can assure everyone that the Ukrainian people have the full support of the UK Government.
“We have torn up the usual requirement on visas so Ukrainians settled in the UK will be able to bring in relatives, organisations and charities will shortly be able to sponsor Ukrainian refuges, and we have officials working on the borders turning visa applications around as quickly as possible.
“I am personally committed to seeing large numbers of Ukrainians coming to the UK and I will be delighted to welcome refuges to Abergavenny.”
In addition, Mr Davies said Britain will continue to provide humanitarian aid and weapons to Ukraine.
He added: “President Zelensky has made it very clear he doesn’t want just warm words. He wants weapons and military support so the Ukrainian people can fight for their land.
“We have already sent 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and will be supplying more.”
But Mr Davies felt the rally was marred by a small handful of people protesting against NATO.
“Unfortunately, there were some who were trying to draw an equivalence between the reprehensible actions of the dictator Putin and western governments,” he said.
“The Ukrainian President wants to join NATO; many other countries in eastern Europe are worried about Russian expansion and support NATO.
“Some people always want to blame NATO and the West for war. But everyone should be clear this conflict has been started by Russia and Putin.
“NATO is standing up for those countries in the region who want to be protected from further Russian aggression. If we really want to stand with the Ukrainian people, it’s not enough to welcome refugees. It is to ensure they have the means to defend their country.”