Cardiff For Ukraine

JOURNALIST GARETH JONES TO BE HONOURED IN KYIV

Today, the design of a plinth to honour the memory of Welsh Journalist Gareth Jones, was unveiled at the Senedd. I'm pictured with Alun Davies MS, Rhun Ap Iorwerth MS, Jack Sargeant MS, and Darren Millar MS.

This project was conceived following our visits to Ukraine as part of Senedd 4 Ukraine - delivering vehicles and aid to Ukrainian defenders.

Gareth Jones is a true Welsh hero who deserves far greater recognition. At great personal cost and risk, he was one of the first journalists to report on the Holodomor (which translates as 'death by starvation') of 1932-1933, which claimed the lives of millions of people (3.9 million according to detailed studies, but was likely more).

The memorial itself will be created from three Welsh-slate stones and will be sited in the street named after him in 2020 by Kyiv City Council. It will feature an image of Gareth Jones and an inscription in Ukrainian, Welsh and English together with a portrayal of both Welsh and Ukrainian flags, crossed in harmony.

The Welsh Government has provided £16,000 to the Senedd Cross-Party Group Friends of Ukraine for the construction and placement of the memorial.

If you want to know more about Gareth Jones' story, you could do far worse than watch the 2019 film 'Mr Jones' starring James Norton.