UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during a visit to Kiev on Thursday, the defense ministry said.
Shapps met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and promised further military support from the UK, according to a press statement.
This is Shapps’ second trip to the Ukrainian capital in as many months. He traveled to Ukraine in August in his former role as UK energy security secretary, amid rising tensions with Russia over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
The UK has been one of the main supporters of Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed separatist rebels in the eastern Donbas region. The UK has so far supplied Ukraine with main battle tanks, long-range cruise missiles, hundreds of thousands of artillery shells and more. Military aid totaled 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) in 2022, with the same amount pledged for this year. This is in addition to millions of pounds in economic aid and a military training program that aims to have 30,000 Ukrainian recruits trained by the end of the year.
President Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its significant financial, defence and humanitarian support of Ukraine in the time of war. He praised the level of cooperation with the UK in the defence sector, which allows the Ukrainian army to significantly expand its capabilities on the battlefield, in particular by means of long-range weapons.
“We are grateful for your help – military, financial, humanitarian. We greatly appreciate that we can rely on you,” Zelenskyy said.
Shapps reaffirmed the UK’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its readiness to provide further assistance to Ukraine’s defence and security sector. He also expressed his support for Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.
The interlocutors also discussed the issue of bolstering Ukraine’s air defence, which is particularly important in the run-up to the winter season. They agreed to work together on enhancing Ukraine’s resilience to potential threats from Russia.
The meeting was held in the framework of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the UK, which was signed by President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson in October 2020. The agreement covers various areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, energy, culture and education.
Shapps said that the UK stands with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and will continue to provide political, diplomatic and military assistance.
“We are proud to be Ukraine’s closest partner in Europe and will continue to work together to defend our shared values and interests,” he said.
The parties also praised the adoption by the Group of Seven at the NATO Summit in Vilnius of a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine and the start of negotiations with the UK on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine. The agreement would be based on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which obliges the UK, along with the US and Russia, to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons.
President Zelenskyy expressed his hope that the agreement would be finalized soon and that it would provide a strong deterrent against any aggression from Russia.
“I hope that this agreement will be a powerful signal to our enemy that we are not alone and that we have reliable partners who will stand by us in case of any threat,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy thanked Shapps for the UK’s unwavering support and expressed hope for further cooperation in various fields, including energy, trade and investment.
“The UK is a reliable friend and ally of Ukraine. We appreciate your support for our sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic integration,” he said.
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