Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the UK on Monday for talks with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with Britain set to offer Kyiv fresh help to breach Russian air defences.
“The key priorities are air defence, maritime security, and joint defence production,” Zelensky said in a social media post on his arrival. “Over the years of the full-scale war, we have built the strongest relationship in the entire history of cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom.”
The UK is expected to give Ukraine rights to produce its “Stone Cloak” device that is said to stop Russian air-defence systems from tracking and targeting drones. Burnham will underline continued British support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion under his leadership at the talks with Zelensky, officials said.
The visit comes ahead of Zelensky’s planned meeting with US President Donald Trump, where he will seek more help to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences against Russian strikes, according to a person familiar with the matter.
They are also likely to discuss sanctions pressure on Russia and next steps in plans to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot air-defence missiles under licence, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public.
The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, according to a White House official, who asked not to be identified discussing the US president’s plans.
Ukraine is waging a campaign of long-range drone and missile strikes in Russia aiming to inflict heavy economic costs on President Vladimir Putin’s war machine and undermine Kremlin efforts to portray the conflict as distant from the lives of ordinary citizens.