>More controversially, in 2015 Dempsey visited the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and was pictured with pro-Russian separatists. He told me this was “part of a humanitarian visit” prompted by the deaths of trade unionists at the hands of ultra-nationalists in Odesa the previous year. Nevertheless, as head of one of the most visible, public-facing organisations in the British labour movement, at a time of ongoing war in Ukraine, Dempsey may find this episode is not easily forgotten.
The incident in Odesa itself that Dempsey was referring to was last year [ruled by the ECHR](https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng) that Ukraine violated human rights over its failure to prevent and properly investigate the 2014 Odesa fire, ordering compensation for victims and families.
ProtonHyrax99 on
TLDR: he went to a communist meeting in Donbas in 2015, long before the invasion, when he was just a regular tube driver, and this has been known about for years.
The “Pro-Russian” chants were from WW2. “United we are invincible” and “The Donbas, the tomb of fascism”.
Wow, so evil.
ratbum on
Telegraph dragging its own name through the mud with these non stories
Anony_mouse202 on
>Mr Dempsey, whose union has repeatedly brought British train services and the Tube to a halt through strike action, was attending an “anti-fascist” event in the city of Alchevsk, organised by Luhansk Communist Party on behalf of the Prizrak Brigade, a separatist group.
Self proclaimed “anti-fascist” turning out to be a Communist Russia sympathiser? I’m _shocked_
Impressive-Bird-6085 on
Of course, in the interests of fair reporting, The Telegraph has been writing extensively about Nigel Farage and Reform U.K.’s Russian links and grifting…..??🤔
I abhor anyone or any organisation in the U.K. grifting for Russia and Putin’s regime.
BlindStupidDesperate on
I’m an RMT member and proud of it, but Dempsey can get fucked
gentle_vik on
RMT should be forced to fire dempsey for traitorous activities and working for putin.
Or loose the right to operate as a sanctioned union.
9 commenti
Revoke his citizenship and let them die for Russia then. I can’t understand why there are so many far left and far right Russian shills
Nothing says anti-imperialism quite like supporting Russia’s imperialist invasion of Crimea.
[The New Statesmen](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/06/eddie-dempsey-on-why-britain-needs-a-trade-union-revival) covered this during a feature of Dempsey last summer:
>More controversially, in 2015 Dempsey visited the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and was pictured with pro-Russian separatists. He told me this was “part of a humanitarian visit” prompted by the deaths of trade unionists at the hands of ultra-nationalists in Odesa the previous year. Nevertheless, as head of one of the most visible, public-facing organisations in the British labour movement, at a time of ongoing war in Ukraine, Dempsey may find this episode is not easily forgotten.
The incident in Odesa itself that Dempsey was referring to was last year [ruled by the ECHR](https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng) that Ukraine violated human rights over its failure to prevent and properly investigate the 2014 Odesa fire, ordering compensation for victims and families.
TLDR: he went to a communist meeting in Donbas in 2015, long before the invasion, when he was just a regular tube driver, and this has been known about for years.
The “Pro-Russian” chants were from WW2. “United we are invincible” and “The Donbas, the tomb of fascism”.
Wow, so evil.
Telegraph dragging its own name through the mud with these non stories
>Mr Dempsey, whose union has repeatedly brought British train services and the Tube to a halt through strike action, was attending an “anti-fascist” event in the city of Alchevsk, organised by Luhansk Communist Party on behalf of the Prizrak Brigade, a separatist group.
Self proclaimed “anti-fascist” turning out to be a Communist Russia sympathiser? I’m _shocked_
Of course, in the interests of fair reporting, The Telegraph has been writing extensively about Nigel Farage and Reform U.K.’s Russian links and grifting…..??🤔
I abhor anyone or any organisation in the U.K. grifting for Russia and Putin’s regime.
I’m an RMT member and proud of it, but Dempsey can get fucked
RMT should be forced to fire dempsey for traitorous activities and working for putin.
Or loose the right to operate as a sanctioned union.