KYIV, Ukraine: During talks held last week with UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who is visiting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky praised British leadership and the assistance it has provided in the fight against Russia’s invasion.
Visiting Kyiv two months after Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Wallace lauded Zelensky for his own leadership during the war.
As well as imposing sanctions on Russia, the UK has provided Ukraine with weapons and financial assistance.
“I am grateful in general to Great Britain, the government and the prime minister. The war highlights who is our friend or friends, not just strategic friends, but real friends now. And I believe Great Britain is a friend,” Zelensky told Wallace at the presidential headquarters.
“Arms, money and sanctions, these are three things in which Great Britain consistently demonstrates its leadership,” he added.
The visit comes as two Britons and a Moroccan captured while fighting against Russian forces were sentenced to death last week by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
The presidential press service did not say whether Zelensky and Wallace discussed the trial, which the UK described as a “sham judgment,” and Ukraine has said the ruling has no authority.
Ukrainian officials have asked the West for more help, including quicker deliveries of artillery and battlefield rocket systems. The presidential press service did not say whether he had discussed such requests with the British.
