Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives in Kyiv on first visit to Ukraine

Rishi Snack During his first visit to Ukraine since taking office, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and promised him £50 million in arms.

Arriving in Kyiv this afternoon, the prime minister said he was “very humbled” to meet the Ukrainian president for the first time.

During a surprise visit, Sunak confirmed a £50 million package to help bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against Putin’s forces and Iran-supplied drones.

Britain’s defense spending is aimed at “protecting Ukrainian civilians and critical national infrastructure from heavy Russian aggression”.

It has been a tense week in the country as Russia escalates missile attacks on cities and infrastructure across the country.

Prime Minister and President Zelensky shared a hug when the two leaders met for the first time

The pair are shown shaking hands in front of the Union and Ukrainian flags before having a one-on-one meeting

The two leaders shook hands for the first time outside President Zelensky’s official residence and posed for the cameras.

With bombings in Kyiv yesterday, temperatures plummeting and the first snow falling, there were fears that the attack on the power plant would lead to a “total shutdown”.

Sunak met first responders at the fire station after images emerged yesterday of firefighters battling flames at a power plant in the capital struck by a Russian missile.

Emergency response teams described harrowing efforts to rescue survivors from the rubble.

The prime minister has seen captured Iranian-made drones used to target and bomb civilians in recent months.

The two leaders met at the Mariinsky Palace, the official ceremonial venue of the President of Ukraine

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference

At the meeting, Zelensky described the two countries as “the strongest allies”

In addition to meeting one-on-one with President Zelensky, Mr. Sunak met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valery Zardini.

During his stay in Kyiv, Mr. Sunak laid wreaths at the memorial to the war dead and lit a candle at the memorial to the victims of the Holodomor famine.

After the meeting, Snack tweeted in English and Ukrainian: “Britain knows what it means to fight for freedom @ZelenskyyUa’.

Mr Zelensky posted a video showing the two leaders meeting this afternoon. Kyiv.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva (left) and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zarzhny (right) attend a meeting with President Zelensky and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shakes hands with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba

The two leaders met in Kyiv after the first snow of the year fell on the city.

“At today’s meeting, we discussed issues of utmost importance to both our national and global security,” he wrote on Telegram’s messaging app.

He added: “Since the first days of the war, Ukraine and Britain have been the strongest allies.

“Together we will be stronger and achieve the desired results.”

The prime minister was welcomed by Ukrainian military officials.

Downing Street confirmed Mr Sunak’s visit and a spokesperson said:

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vows his country will stand with Kyiv ‘until Ukraine wins’

The new defense package promised by the British government consists of 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology that could help take down drones supplied by Iran.

Despite accepting Zelensky’s invitation to Kyiv, Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, never actually went to Kyiv during her 44 days in office.

Boris Johnson had a friendly relationship with Mr Zelensky and visited Ukraine many times as prime minister.

Mr Sunak pledged that the close partnership between the UK and Ukraine will continue under his leadership.

The prime minister, who has spoken to Mr Zelensky several times since he entered Downing Street, said he would use his attendance at the G20 this week to join forces with allies and other Western leaders to denounce Vladimir Putin’s aggression. merged.

Boris Johnson became friendly with Mr Zelensky and visited Ukraine many times as prime minister

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walked on Independence Square in Kyiv in August.

A video of the meeting posted on Sunak’s Twitter account shows him shaking hands with the Ukrainian leader in snowy Kyiv.

‘Welcome. All right? ‘ asks the Prime Minister.

“It’s great to meet you,” said Mr. Sunak as Mr. Zelensky gestured to the falling snow.

The pair are shown shaking hands in front of the Union flag and the Ukrainian flag before conducting a one-on-one meeting.

The visit came after a missile struck a Polish village near the Ukrainian border, initially raising concerns that Russia had attacked a NATO member.

Some of the tension eased after experts reported that the attack was likely caused by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Firefighters fight fires at a thermal power plant damaged by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv yesterday

A Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region stands with an anti-aircraft rocket launcher on his shoulder (pictured Wednesday)

The new defense package promised by the British government consists of 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to help fight off Iran-supplied drones.

This includes dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capabilities.

Britain will also send military medics and technicians to help the country defend itself against Putin’s forces.

When announcing the package, Sunak said: And we will bring you a just peace.

“Ukrainian forces are successfully repelling Russian forces on the ground, but civilians are being subjected to brutal airstrikes.

“It is a great humility to come to Kyiv today and have the opportunity to meet people who make great efforts and pay a high price to defend their sovereignty and democratic principles.”

A member of the Ukrainian National Guard fires anti-aircraft artillery at a position not far from Kharkov earlier this month

A Ukrainian soldier fires an anti-tank missile at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Tuesday saw one of the largest-ever Russian attacks on Ukraine, firing more than 100 missiles at cities across the country, including Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it had attacked civilian buildings and power plants.

The bombing cut off power in half of Kyiv, where at least one civilian was killed, and in the entire city of Zhytomyr.

Kharkiv, Vinnitsa, Rivne, Odesa, Zaporizhia, Chernihiv, Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk were also targeted, while strikes were also reported in Lviv, where there was allegedly a partial blackout, but the situation in these cities It wasn’t very clear.

Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke via video link from Kyiv, he told world leaders at the G20 Bali summit that Russia would end the war if it withdrew its troops from the territories currently occupied. He said he was prepared to do so.