Prime Minister visits Ukraine in final week of office

The Prime Minister is traveling to Kyiv today (Thursday 16 July) where he will mark the culmination of two years of his leadership in supporting Ukraine's fight for freedom and sovereignty.

The Prime Minister is expected to meet President Zelenskyy to discuss the progress made to date in equipping Ukraine to maintain its fight against Putin's illegal invasion and hold talks on where allies should focus to ensure Ukraine has what it needs.

Having played a pivotal role in building the international coalitions, military support and long-term security partnerships that have put Ukraine firmly on the path to peace, Keir Starmer will tell President Zelenskyy that British support for Ukraine is unwavering.

He will set out how the work undertaken by the UK and its allies over the last two years has helped put Ukraine in its strongest position yet to defeat Russian aggression and secure a lasting peace.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Throughout this conflict, I have seen the incredible fortitude of the Ukrainian people and the iron will of a nation that refuses to be cowed. Their stand has not only defended its own freedom, it has preserved the security of Europe.

When I became Prime Minister, I knew the UK must not simply stand with Ukraine in the moment, but help build the foundations of its long-term security and success. That's why we put the UK at the centre of a stronger Europe - investing more money into defence, leading the way in the war fighting technologies of the future and doing everything we can to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.

And we have brought others with us on that journey. As we showed at the G7 and NATO Summits in recent weeks: the UK and its allies are absolutely united against Russian aggression.

I am so proud of what Britain has contributed. That work will continue, and our cast-iron support for Ukraine will always endure. Not just for them and for European security, but for families in Britain who have felt the cost of this war through rising prices.

With the Prime Minister's leadership, the UK has played a central role in driving forward international support for Ukraine and European security. Since July 2024, the Government has:

• Confirmed £3bn a year in military support for Ukraine for as long as it takes, and delivered over 250,000 drones, around 8,000 missiles and over 350,000 artillery rounds
• Co-founded and led the Coalition of the Willing, which has met 16 times and grown into a 34-nation strong group which is ready to support peace through robust security guarantees
• Together with Germany, taken over leadership from the US of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group - coordinating the international community's military donations for Ukraine and generating over $85bn worth of pledges since the beginning of 2025
• Built a thriving drone production industry in the UK and developed long-term technology and intellectual property sharing arrangements with Ukraine
• Squeezed Russia's invasion funds with sanctions on over 1,400 individuals, entities and ships including around 600 shadow fleet oil tankers operating as part of the Russian shadow fleet
• Been the first G7 country to sanction all four Russian oil majors (Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprom Neft, and Surgutneftegaz), responsible for roughly 80% of Russia's oil production
• Signed a 100-year partnership with Ukraine, covering areas like defence, security, trade, energy, justice, science and culture

It comes after earlier this week the Prime Minister attended a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris and announced that he has secured a deal for the UK to join the £78bn (€90bn) Ukraine Support Loan, boosting Ukraine's defence and opening future contracts to British defence firms.

The initiative will strengthen Ukraine's investment in defence over 2026 and 2027 and include the procurement of defence products where UK industry already has world-leading expertise.

The deal between the UK and the EU will give Britain's defence firms access to procurement contracts funded by the loan, unlocking billions in potential investment. The UK Government will contribute to the loan's borrowing costs for contracts secured by British firms.

The UK and its allies also launched a new initiative to build a shared programme to protect Europe against ballistic missiles, using what Ukraine has learned from fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for more than four years to equip Europe to defend against this growing threat.

In the face of sustained Russian aggression, the UK has already delivered the biggest sustained boost to defence spending since the Cold War. The Prime Minister doubled down on this commitment when he published the Defence Investment Plan, announcing a further £15 billion investment.

The Prime Minister will tell President Zelenskyy that while his time in office is drawing to a close, the UK's commitment to Ukraine is not. The partnerships, coalitions and support established over the last two years are designed to endure for years to come.