The first meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham, took place at the Royal Navy's Portsmouth Naval Base.
This was the first visit by a foreign leader to the United Kingdom since Andy Burnham took office on July 20 this year. The President and the Prime Minister held both a one-on-one meeting and talks in an expanded format aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
"I can assure you, and I can assure all Ukrainians, that our support for Ukraine remains unwavering. I believe the overwhelming majority of British people feel the same way. We feel the injustice of what you have had to endure, and we clearly understand that it is our duty to stand with you and support you," Andy Burnham said.
The Prime Minister added that, during his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester, he worked closely with Ukrainian counterparts to help Ukrainians.
"It is precisely this unity of British society in supporting Ukraine that is so profoundly important. Your extensive experience of working with Ukrainian mayors undoubtedly gives you a clear understanding of what is happening, what this war means, and the scale of the challenge," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The leaders discussed the priorities for further partnership and support for Ukraine. Their primary focus was the development of joint defense production and the establishment of relevant enterprises in both Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The President and the Prime Minister agreed to work toward continuously increasing the pace of this cooperation.
"As a sign of our intent, I can announce today that we are going further. We are providing new, homegrown jamming technology to protect Ukrainian drones. It will help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives. It also shows the kind of innovation our industries can deliver together," Andy Burnham said.
The President noted that the United Kingdom is making tremendous efforts to strengthen security, which is especially important given the challenges the world faces every day.
"The Strait of Hormuz is not working normally. Russia is trying to block the routes through the Black Sea to our ports in our Odesa. And we are doing everything we can to stop it. Every blocked sea route is not a distant problem. It hurts global security, it hurts global trade, and it makes life more expensive in many, many countries," the Head of State said.
They also discussed the work of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition and the next steps with partners in this area, as well as cooperation within the Coalition of the Willing. Andy Burnham assured that the United Kingdom will continue to co-chair the Coalition of the Willing and take part in preparations for the partners' next meeting in August.
The Prime Minister noted that Ukraine has changed the course of this war and continues to seize the initiative from Russia. According to him, the United Kingdom will continue to increase pressure on the Russian Federation.
