File photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walk outside Number 10 Downing Street in London, UK, 8 February 2023;
Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville
LONDON (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the United Kingdom on Monday 15 May 2023 as part of a tour of several key European allies ahead of an expected major Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Last week, the UK became the first country to start supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow its forces to hit Russian troops and supply dumps deep behind the front lines.
Sunak's office said the British leader would on Monday confirm the provision of hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems including hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of over 200 kilometres.
Zelensky visited Berlin, Rome and Paris over the weekend to meet with European leaders as he seeks to drum up further military and financial support for Ukraine. "Today – London. The UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today," Zelensky said on Twitter. "I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations."
The British government said Zelensky had arrived in the UK and would meet Sunak at his Chequers country residence. "This is a crucial moment in Ukraine's resistance to a terrible war," Sunak said in a statement. "They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year."
After the United States, the UK has been one of the largest suppliers of military aid to Ukraine, contributing £2.3 billion worth of support last year and pledging a similar amount for 2023.
In January 2023, the UK said it would send fourteen of its battle tanks to Ukraine, a pledge that was followed by other nations including the United States and Germany.
Zelensky was also scheduled to deliver a speech to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Monday via video link.
