On Wednesday, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Jeremy Hunt.

The Head of State expressed gratitude to the people, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Parliament of Great Britain for supporting Ukraine from the first days of the Russian invasion.

"We highly value the partnership between our countries. Significantly, the first security cooperation agreement we signed was with the United Kingdom," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine also thanked for the largest defense assistance package from the UK worth half a billion pounds, which was announced the day before.

The Head of State praised the decision of Great Britain to increase defence spending of the UK government to 2.5% of GDP.

"Thank you for this step, for the decision that will not only contribute to further assistance to Ukraine, but also reinforce European security. It is highly important. It would be great if other European countries also increased their defense spending. It would significantly strengthen the defense capability of Europe against possible challenges," the President noted.

Volodymyr Zelensky also mentioned that in times of war, the UK's financial support is crucial for our country's economy.

Special attention was paid to the sanctions policy. The parties emphasized the importance of expanding restrictive measures against Russia and preventing the aggressor country from circumventing existing sanctions.