UK and Ukraine agree to deepen ties as Zelensky meets Starmer
LONDON: Seeking to shore up support more than three years into Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday, cementing a military co-production deal.
Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend.
Addressing Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training in the UK, Starmer said the pair had had 'an excellent bilateral meeting' and agreed on an 'industrial military co-production agreement,' which he called 'a massive step forward in the contribution that we can continue to make.'
Zelensky, speaking beside Starmer, insisted the deal 'will be very strong and will transform both nations,' although no details were released.
After the meeting, Starmer said it was 'really a privilege, a pleasure' to welcome Zelensky, calling him 'a regular now at Downing Street.'
Starmer told the Ukrainian troops it was 'really humbling' to see their 'level of professionalism, commitment and bravery.'
More than 50,000 troops have now been trained as part of the international partnership.
Zelensky said the scheme had helped 'strengthen our army' and enabled Ukraine to 'survive and fight.'
The UK has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since Russia invaded in early 2022, levelling rounds of sanctions against Moscow and supplying multiple packages of military aid.
Starmer promised the support would continue 'for the rest of the conflict' and help put Ukraine in 'the strongest possible position' to negotiate a ceasefire.
Zelensky said his country was 'very thankful to the UK... for such big support of Ukraine from the very beginning of this war.'
The Ukrainian leader earlier traveled to Windsor Castle, where he 'visited The King... and remained to luncheon,' Buckingham Palace said.
Zelensky is expected at the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Ukraine's allies will work 'to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position as we go into the next stage of this conflict,' according to Starmer.
NATO allies are poised to take a 'quantum leap' by hiking defense spending to counter the threat of Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the eve of the two-day summit.
The alliance's 32 members will pledge to boost defense expenditure to five percent of gross domestic product, a key demand of President Donald Trump, who has long grumbled that the US pays too much for NATO.
NATO's members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate at least 3.5 percent of GDP to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 percent to broader security-related items like cyber-security and infrastructure.
'The defense investment plan that allies will agree in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,' Rutte told reporters at a pre-summit news conference.
'This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Dutch Government Says Pro-Russian Hackers Target Municipalities Linked to This Week's NATO Summit
Pro-Russian hackers launched a series of denial-of-service attacks Monday on several municipalities and organizations linked to a NATO summit this week in the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced. The National Cybersecurity Center said in a statement that many of the attacks were claimed by a pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057(16) and appear to have a pro-Russian ideological motive. It did not elaborate. The cybersecurity center said it was investigating the attacks, which flood a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline, and was in contact with national and international partners. Raoul Rozestraten, a spokesman for the municipality in The Hague, the Dutch city hosting the summit Tuesday and Wednesday, said the attacks hit municipalities around the country. 'We noticed more traffic on the website of some of our service providers,' he told The Associated Press. 'As of now, everything in The Hague is working normally.' The government had launched a major security operation named Orange Shield around the NATO summit.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
UK and Ukraine agree to deepen ties as Zelensky meets Starmer
LONDON: Seeking to shore up support more than three years into Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday, cementing a military co-production deal. Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle. The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend. Addressing Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training in the UK, Starmer said the pair had had 'an excellent bilateral meeting' and agreed on an 'industrial military co-production agreement,' which he called 'a massive step forward in the contribution that we can continue to make.' Zelensky, speaking beside Starmer, insisted the deal 'will be very strong and will transform both nations,' although no details were released. After the meeting, Starmer said it was 'really a privilege, a pleasure' to welcome Zelensky, calling him 'a regular now at Downing Street.' Starmer told the Ukrainian troops it was 'really humbling' to see their 'level of professionalism, commitment and bravery.' More than 50,000 troops have now been trained as part of the international partnership. Zelensky said the scheme had helped 'strengthen our army' and enabled Ukraine to 'survive and fight.' The UK has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since Russia invaded in early 2022, levelling rounds of sanctions against Moscow and supplying multiple packages of military aid. Starmer promised the support would continue 'for the rest of the conflict' and help put Ukraine in 'the strongest possible position' to negotiate a ceasefire. Zelensky said his country was 'very thankful to the UK... for such big support of Ukraine from the very beginning of this war.' The Ukrainian leader earlier traveled to Windsor Castle, where he 'visited The King... and remained to luncheon,' Buckingham Palace said. Zelensky is expected at the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Ukraine's allies will work 'to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position as we go into the next stage of this conflict,' according to Starmer. NATO allies are poised to take a 'quantum leap' by hiking defense spending to counter the threat of Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the eve of the two-day summit. The alliance's 32 members will pledge to boost defense expenditure to five percent of gross domestic product, a key demand of President Donald Trump, who has long grumbled that the US pays too much for NATO. NATO's members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate at least 3.5 percent of GDP to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 percent to broader security-related items like cyber-security and infrastructure. 'The defense investment plan that allies will agree in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,' Rutte told reporters at a pre-summit news conference. 'This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Starmer and Zelenskiy Meet in London, Agree Military Production Project
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new defense co-production initiative on Monday during a short visit by the Ukrainian president to London to discuss his country's defense against Russia. The two leaders announced the deal in the garden of Starmer's Downing Street residence, where they also met Ukrainian troops being trained in Britain. "I'm really proud that this afternoon, we're able to announce an industrial military co-production agreement - the first of its kind so far as Ukraine and the UK are concerned - which will be a massive step forward now in the contribution that we can continue to make," Starmer said. He did not provide further details on the agreement. Zelenskiy said it would help strengthen both nations. Speaking alongside Starmer, the Ukrainian president thanked Britain for its support in the war against Russia, Reuters reported. Zelenskiy had earlier met King Charles at Windsor Castle where the two shook hands for cameras on what was their third meeting this year and the latest gesture of Charles', and Britain's, support for Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader also met the speakers of both houses of parliament.
