𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Boris Johnson may be this country’s most famous champion of Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion but, under the radar, a 32-year-old has quietly worked to ensure British support for the embattled nation does not falter. I first met Imogen Payter at the British Kebab Awards – one of the great party nights in the Westminster calendar. There is no shortage of extroverts around the Houses of Parliament but this English-Australian has a gregarious charisma which has helped her forge friendships across the party divide.

Her decision to work as a parliamentary aide and then become a Conservative councillor in Hampshire signalled she was one of the many young politicos vying to become a MP. But in 2019 she went on a “girls’ trip” to Kyiv which would change her life. She “fell in love with Ukraine” and the passing of time did not dull her passion for this vast country.

“We always said we were going to go back,” she says. “I just didn’t quite appreciate what circumstances it would be under.”

Russian forces stormed across the border in February 2022. She got in touch with the Ukraine All-Party Parliamentary Group and asked if she could do anything to help.

MPs and some staffers put together a small aid convoy and they headed east. She has now made the journey nearly 30 times and helped take around 100 elected officials and peers to the country so they can show solidarity with the Ukrainians and see for themselves the true cost of the conflict.

Her message is simple: “Ukraine wants their country back.”

Ms Payter now heads-up UK Friends of Ukraine and argues the nation can repel its invaders if granted crucial support. She sees a “desperation” in recent Russian attacks which have hit cultural targets.

“There’s no real tactics anymore,” she says. “It’s just the destruction of Ukraine.”

The urgency of the humanitarian crisis forced her to choose between her political ambitions and doing everything she could at this moment in history to help those under attack.

She explains: “I chose not to stand [as a councillor] again because my Ukraine work was taking over, and something had to give.”

Her mum now shares her commitment to Ukraine and the pair delivered water filtration kits to the Kherson frontline.

She found you can “forget where you are” when visiting a danger zone. One moment you are trying to drive through a city where there is the blast of explosions and billowing black smoke – and then you find yourself at a community centre with children who are “about to have a watermelon party”.

Sydney-born Ms Payter freely admits she has never been part of anything on this scale before.

“Not even slightly,” she says. “I’d never been to a war zone.”

Was there a military background in her family?

“No, no. This all came as a shock to them.”

She is impressed by the resolve of ordinary Ukrainians, despite the years of war.

“There’s a real determination there,” she says. “They’ve survived their harshest winter. They got through it.”

Alongside the courage of citizens, the horrors they continue to endure are clear to see: “You walk up and down the streets, even in Lviv, Kyiv, and you see young boys and girls with amputations. And it’s just devastating. You see soldiers that have battle scars and they’re meeting up with their wives or girlfriends.”

She adds: “I think you would struggle to find a single child in Ukraine that hasn’t been personally affected by the loss of a loved one.”

Britons who want to support Ukraine’s efforts to defeat the invaders and rebuild towns, cities and lives can put their time, energy and resources to work with her not-for-profit.

“We’ve sponsored prosthetic limbs for soldiers,” she says. “We have delivered fire engines and ambulances. There’s a real tangible difference that we’ve been able to make to both communities and people.”

Her organisation is “always looking for volunteers, no matter what their skill set is” – and also “looking for donors so we can expand our work”.

She was heartened last year when Russia sanctioned her, barring her from entering the country. Far from being intimidated by Moscow’s move, she saw it as proof that her efforts are having an impact: “I remember my mom was like, ‘Oh my goodness, what does this mean?’ I was like, ‘No, it’s a good thing. It means I’m doing something right.’”

Britain’s early support for Ukraine in the first stages of the war has earned the UK a warm place in the country’s hearts.

“When they find out you’re British, you’re welcomed with open arms,” she says.

However, she has concerns for the future. Among her biggest fears is that support for Ukraine will dwindle and European states will not make the necessary investment in defence.

For Ms Payter, the war is about much more than the defence of one country. A battle for civilisation is unfolding in Europe: “Ukraine’s sort of holding the fort for the rest of Europe… This is a lesson on the importance of democracy and national sovereignty and the right to self-determination. And that’s what Ukraine has been fighting for.”

Support for Ukraine is by no means universal, as demonstrated by the hostility among some on the American Right when it comes to supporting the fight against Russia.

“I would happily welcome some Republicans to come and see with their own eyes what the Ukrainians are doing, to come and experience the Ukrainian resolve, to come and see firsthand what cards the Ukrainians still hold,” she says.

She wants to see Ukraine recover Crimea and Luhansk and argues: “If Ukraine were given the adequate support in terms of air defence, and in terms of funding for their own manufacturing capabilities, I think they could very easily do that.”

Though she has shaken hands with Volodymyr Zelensky, she says she has not “felt the need for a sit-down with him”.

“I think he’s got bigger priorities at the moment than talking to little old me,” she says.

Maybe – but she has helped bring scores of politicians from across the party divides to Ukraine and cemented support for a nation which has refused to surrender to Russia’s war machine.

She acknowledges she has yet to come up with a technique for de-stressing when she returns to the UK: “I should probably get better at that.”

And she has a quick response when asked if she would like to one day enter Parliament: “No, no, no… I think I have found a passion project that will be [here for] years to come.”

Once the invasion is over, she says, there will be “years of reconstruction, years of rehabilitation, and years of really trying to fight for compensation that Ukraine deserves from Russia”.

Insisting that the “battle is far from over”, she says: “I’m definitely in it for the long haul, and that’s where my heart lies.”

• Further information about the work of UK Friends of Ukraine and opportunities to help can be found at friendsofukraine.uk