In London, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Head of State expressed gratitude for supporting Ukraine and emphasized that the key task now is to stop Russian terror and force the aggressor to think about peace rather than continuing the war and escalating it further.
The main topics of the meeting included strengthening diplomatic coordination within multilateral formats, developing joint defense projects, and increasing sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need to enhance cooperation within the Coalition of the Willing, particularly in regard to security guarantees for Ukraine.
The leaders discussed deepening defense cooperation, an issue that was raised during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit last week. This cooperation will enable Ukraine to secure stable and adequate funding for defense projects, including the production of interceptor drones and long-range drones. Another key focus was the strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense with the necessary capabilities. Relevant agreements have been reached.
“There is a good outcome from today’s meeting – an additional decision on joint production. I believe it will be very effective and will strengthen both countries,” the President said.
The Head of State also thanked the United Kingdom for the recent sanctions package against Russia and underlined the need for sanctions that would make it impossible for Russia to scale up its weapons production. He stressed the importance of increasing sanctions on the energy and banking sectors, the shadow fleet, and introducing secondary restrictions – particularly targeting companies that supply dual-use components used in the production of drones and missiles.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided the United Kingdom with a list of Russian enterprises involved in the production of the “Oreshnik” system, other ballistic missiles, drones, and equipment used by Russia to strike Ukrainian cities and villages.
“Thirty-nine companies from Russia’s defense-industrial complex are involved in the production of the ‘Oreshnik’ system. Twenty-one of them are not under sanctions. That means they continue to receive parts and components for the ‘Oreshnik.’ And they need them, because there will be no ‘Oreshnik’ without these parts,” the Head of State noted during a recent conversation with journalists.
