Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the new UK government to help Ukrainian forces attack deep into Russian territory, delivering a rare address by a foreign leader at a UK cabinet meeting. He said that “the ability to destroy sites where Russian weapons are concentrated at long range” was key to Ukraine’s defence.
Zelensky told Prime Minister Keir Starmer:
“I ask you to show your leadership in lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons.”
Russia has used devastating firepower in its summer offensive in eastern Ukraine, turning villages into rubble and pushing back Ukrainian troops in places. It has also launched missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, hitting dozens of military targets.
Some of Kyiv’s allies are reluctant to allow Ukraine to use its weapons to strike Russian territory over fears that the West could be drawn into direct conflict with Russia. The British government has said it is up to Ukraine to decide how to use the UK-supplied missiles, subject to international law. In an interview with the BBC, Zelensky said he wanted clarification on Ukraine’s ability to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia. Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile with a range of more than 250 kilometres (155 miles). Zelensky said:
“We need a decision about long-distance weapons, long range, to use it. We need it very much. They’re targeting our hospitals, schools. We just want to answer exactly to the point where from they target us.”
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said Ukraine already has permission to use missiles against Russia, but the rules on what the missiles can be aimed at and in what circumstances are a “complex issue” that is the subject of intense negotiations. Healey told BBC:
“We’re providing weapons to Ukraine for their defence of their sovereign country, and that does not preclude them hitting targets in Russia, but that must be done by the Ukrainians. It must be done within the parameters and the bounds of international humanitarian law.”
The US, Ukraine’s biggest military supporter, recently changed its stance, with the Pentagon saying last month that Ukraine could use US-provided longer-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory if it acts in self-defence.
Since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the US has maintained a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use its provided weapons to strike targets inside Russia for fear of further escalation.
UK government greets Zelensky with applause
The Ukrainian president received a standing ovation from the Starmer government as he entered the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. The last foreign leader invited to address a cabinet meeting in person was US President Bill Clinton in 1997. Zelensky briefed ministers on the situation in Ukraine and the need for European countries to increase defence production. He said Ukraine had repelled Russian attempts to advance on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, showing that “we can stop any Russian attempt to expand the war.”
Starmer, whose centre-left government was elected by the Labour Party a fortnight ago, is keen to stress that under him Britain will continue to provide strong support for Ukraine. He said the UK would “double down” on its support for Ukraine, including through a treaty designed to help both countries boost military production. The UK is also giving Ukraine access to 3.5 billion pounds ($4.5 billion) of export financing for arms purchases. Starmer also said in a statement:
“Ukraine is, and always will be, at the heart of this government’s agenda, and so it is only fitting that President Zelensky will make a historic address to my Cabinet. Russia’s incremental gains on the battlefield are nothing compared with the collective international support for Ukraine, or the strength of ties between our people.”
During a visit to Britain, which included a summit of the European Policy Community on Thursday, Ukraine’s president repeated his increasingly urgent calls for more ammunition and weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia.
European leaders at the summit agreed to toughen sanctions against a “shadow fleet” of hundreds of illegal and often dilapidated vessels that the West believes Russia uses to transport oil and circumvent sanctions. At a security summit on Thursday, the leaders expressed support for Ukraine and concern about the direction of the United States, which has been overshadowed by worries over whether the US will remain a reliable ally in the event of Donald Trump’s second presidential victory.
Third German Patriot system already in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Zelensky confirmed that a third German Patriot system is on Ukrainian territory. In a separate statement, Zelensky also said he respected Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign. Adding that it has likely reported readiness for deployment, Zelensky said in his nightly video address:
“The German Patriot has arrived. We will be able to do more in the sky.”
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s words, writing in a column for the Daily Mail newspaper that Donald Trump could end the Ukrainian conflict, are still unheeded by Kyiv.
Johnson said that for sustainable peace, Ukraine should be allowed to join the EU and NATO in the future, but would end the conflict on the borders that existed before February 24, 2022. When the former Prime Minister came to Ukraine after the outbreak of the military conflict in 2022, he was welcomed very warmly and with honours. Moreover, Johnson was accepted into Ukraine’s Cossack community, and with a “Cossack” name that pays homage to his dishevelled blond hair, Daily Mail reported.
