LONDON (AP) – Britain’s Prime Minister on Monday vowed to arm Ukraine with attack drones and hundreds more missiles as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the UK. to rally support for a counter-offensive against Russian forces.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted Zelenskyy with a handshake and hug after he landed by helicopter in Checkers, the British leader’s official retreat. It is Zelenskyy’s second trip to the UK since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Thanking Britain for its support so far, Zelenskyy said the war was a matter of “security not just for Ukraine, it was important for the whole of Europe”.
Sunak told Zelenskyy that “Your leadership, courage and steadfastness of your country are an inspiration to all of us.”
After Italy, the Vatican, Germany and France, this is the fifth European country Zelenskky has visited in the past three days. He is asking for more help as Ukraine prepares a long-awaited spring offensive to retake territory captured by Russia.
The Kremlin said it took London’s pledge to supply Ukraine with more arms “extremely negatively” while also assuming the supplies would not drastically change the course of the war, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
“Britain aspires to be at the forefront of countries that continue pumping arms into Ukraine,” Peskov said. “We repeat it again: it cannot have a drastic and fundamental impact on the way the special military operation (in Ukraine) develops. But it definitely leads to more destruction and more action. … That makes the whole story much more complicated for Ukraine.”
Sunak responded by pledging that Britain would provide long-term support to Ukraine.
The UK has become one of Ukraine’s key military allies, sending short-range missiles and Challenger tanks to Kiev and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Last week Britain announced it had sent Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles) – the first known shipment of the weapons Kiev has long awaited from its allies.
Sunak’s office also said it is donating hundreds more anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, as well as “long-range attack drones” with a range of more than 200 kilometers (120 miles).
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression that it neither chose nor provoked,” Sunak said. “They need the sustained support of the international community to defend themselves against the barrage of relentless and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.
“We must not let them down.”
Zelenskyi had said one of his missions on the trip would be to build a “fighter jet coalition” to provide Ukraine with vital defenses from the air. He said more work was needed on that front.
While the UK will not provide the planes, the Prime Minister said it will be a key part of the coalition and will begin training Ukrainian fighter pilots as early as the summer.
Sunak will also urge his allies to provide more support to Ukraine at a meeting of Group of Seven leaders later this week in Japan, Downing Street said.
As Zelenskyy visited European capitals, Russia ramped up its drone and missile attacks across Ukraine. On Sunday, Russia shelled two communities in the northern border region of Sumy, regional officials said on Telegram. They said 109 explosions were recorded.
Zelenskyy’s office announced on Monday that nine civilians had been killed and 19 injured by the shelling over the past day. Six of the deaths occurred in the Kherson region. Two civilians were killed in Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region and one in Prymorsk, which lies on the Azov Sea coast about 20 kilometers from Russian-held Berdyansk.
The Presidential Office also reported that Marhanets, located across the river from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, was shelled.
Zelenskyy’s stay in the UK followed a previously unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron’s office said France would deliver dozens of light tanks, armored vehicles and other air defense systems “in the coming weeks,” without giving specific numbers.
About 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers would also be trained in France this year and nearly 4,000 more in Poland as part of a broader European effort, Macron’s office said.
France had sent a plane to pick up Zelenskyy in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Sunday.
It was his first visit to Berlin since the invasion began and came a day after the German government announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion).
Germany overcame its initial hesitation and became one of the largest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 and 2 main battle tanks and the advanced IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Modern Western hardware is believed to be crucial to the success of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive.
Zelenskyi met Pope Francis at the Vatican and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Saturday.
During his European tour, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would seek liberation of Russian-occupied territories within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and would not attack Russian territory.
The areas still occupied by Russia include the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with a predominantly Russian-speaking population.
The Washington Post cited previously unreleased documents from a plethora of US intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelenskyi had been contemplating seizing territory in Russia that could potentially serve as a bargaining chip for peace talks to end the war Moscow started.
This would put him at odds with Western governments, who insist that the weapons they provide cannot be used to attack targets in Russia.
“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),” Zelenskyy said when asked about the report, according to an official interpreter. “And we don’t have any weapons left to do it with either.
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