Starmer said the drones were “a reminder” of what the Ukrainian people were up against and their resolve.
His unannounced visit is his first to Ukraine since he took office in July, though he said that it was his seventh meeting Zelensky.
Italy’s defence chief was also in Kyiv, two days after Germany’s defence minister visited and three days after Zelensky talked by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attend a presentation of Ukrainian military drones in Kyiv.Credit: AP
The flurry of diplomatic activity came before Trump’s inauguration on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), which is expected to bring a departure from the outgoing US administration’s pledge to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia. Trump has also indicated that he wants Europe to shoulder more of the burden for helping Ukraine.
Kyiv’s allies have rushed to flood Ukraine with support, to put it in the strongest position possible before Trump moves back into the White House, for any future negotiations to end the war that began on February 24, 2022.
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Ukrainians worry that Trump’s reported peace plan will demand unpalatable concessions, such as giving up territory. Zelensky has also said that he wants security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again in the future.
“We must look at how this war could end, the practical ways to get a just and lasting peace … that guarantees your security, your independence and your right to choose your own future,” Starmer said at a joint news conference.
Zelensky said the two leaders had discussed an idea floated by Macron for Western troops to monitor a future ceasefire, but said that it was “a bit too early to talk about details”.
Starmer left the door open to UK participation, telling Zelensky “we will work with you and all of our allies on steps that would be robust enough to guarantee Ukraine’s security.”
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“Those conversations will continue for many months ahead,” Starmer said.
Zelensky has previously discussed a potential peacekeeping force with Baltic countries, France and Poland. But he said that it could only be part of the security solution and noted that “we do not consider security guarantees without the United States”.
Starmer agreed that Washington’s role in Ukraine was “vital.” The US is the biggest provider of military support and advanced weaponry to the country.
“We will continue to work with the US on this,” he said.
Starmer said that in 2025, the UK would give Ukraine “more military support than ever before”. He said it has already committed £3 billion for military aid this year, including 150 more artillery barrels and a UK-designed mobile air defence system named Gravehawk. The UK has pledged £12.8 billion in military and civilian aid since the war broke out.
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During the day-long visit, Starmer and Zelensky laid flowers at a wall of remembrance for those killed in the war. The wall outside St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, a Kyiv landmark, is covered in photos of the slain, stretching for a city block. It has become a place of pilgrimage for families paying tribute to their lost loved ones.
Starmer also visited a Kyiv hospital specialising in burns treatment, and an exhibition of drone technology.
As the grinding war nears the three-year mark, both Russia and Ukraine are pushing for battlefield gains before possible peace talks. Ukraine has started a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, where it is struggling to hang onto a chunk of territory it captured last year, and has stepped up drone and missile attacks on weapons sites and fuel depots inside Russia.
Moscow is slowly taking territory at the cost of high casualties along the 1000-kilometre front line in eastern Ukraine and launching intense barrages at its energy system, seeking to deprive Ukrainians of heat and light in the depths of winter. A major Russian ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine on Wednesday compelled authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas.
AP
