A farmer from Fife who set up home in Ukraine has warned Scots the country cannot wait for the west to “get its act together” in tackling Vladimir Putin.
Peter Thomson, originally from St Andrews, set up home in Ukraine in 1993, where he runs a business farming tens of thousands of acres of land.
In an interview with The Courier, Peter said Ukrainians are as determined as ever to defeat Russia after it invaded the country 14 days ago.
He also appealed for the UK to move faster sanctioning Russian wealth in London and across the country.
“It’s all about time now,” Peter said.
“For the people left in Mauripol without heat, light and water for about a week now, time is critical.
“A child died yesterday of dehydration in Mauripol,” he added.
“The longer the west takes to get its act together the bigger the humanitarian crisis is going to be.”
Peter moved to Ukraine as part of a UK Government project taking agriculture technology to Ukraine.
“We did a vegetable project just outside Kyiv where we took a field and grew a selection of vegetables like onions, carrots, beetroot and tomatoes using British technology and seed to demonstrate what could be done,” he said.
The farmer, who now employs around 400 people, said people in Ukraine are more determined than ever to ensure Putin’s war was not successful.
Nobody wants to end up in a Russian occupied area, it’s a matter of life and death
Peter Thomson
Explaining why they had taken up arms to defend the country, he said: “I don’t know just how well the west is aware of what happened in Crimea since the Russians annexed.
“Wherever Russia goes, whether its the Donbas or Crimea, all you have is disease, poverty, misery, death and complete and utter lawlessness.
“Everyone in Ukraine has seen and heard from somebody there, and that’s why the resistance in Ukraine is so ferocious now.
“Nobody wants to end up in a Russian occupied area, it’s a matter of life and death. If you end up there you have no freedom, it’s the end.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made repeated calls for Nato to enforce a no-fly zone over his country, something Peter said he was unsure about.
“On the face of it, it seems like a good idea,” he said.
“Unfortunately, if you do that then you have Nato warplanes and missiles being used against Russia.
“I think that seriously increases the risk of escalation to the use of nuclear weapons. I don’t think anybody wants that.”
Peter is still working to maintain his business, something that keeps him busy, but said he would go and fight if he could.
He shared previously how he had spent time making Molotov cocktails with his daughter.
“We are all preparing to fight, one way or another,” he said.
“My daughter and I spent an hour or two this morning making Molotov cocktails from the petrol that’s usually used for the lawnmower, and took them down to the local territorial defence people.”
The UK started out well at the beginning of the war but seem to have slackened off
Asked what his message to the UK would be, Peter said it is important to move faster on defence aid as well as tackling Russian oligarchs with connections to the Kremlin.
“The UK started out well at the beginning of the war but seem to have slackened off. I don’t think the UK is doing enough about the oligarch money that is in London.
“The UK as one of the centres of Russian wealth should be doing more right now,” he said.
‘Keep aid to Ukraine flowing’
Peter also thanked people across Scotland for their support through aid that had been donated to the country.
We reported last week how one Dundee church minister had taken £12,000 in aid to Poland to help those fleeing the country.
“It’s being handled very professionally, so keep it coming. It’s desperately needed,” he added.
