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Kyiv and London strengthen defense cooperation: Zelenskyy announces key priorities

Kyiv and London strengthen defense cooperation: Zelenskyy announces key priorities Photo: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Getty Images)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. They will discuss cooperation between Kyiv and London, Zelenskyy wrote about this on Telegram.

"First of all, I am grateful for Britain’s support and solidarity with Ukraine and for the assistance in protecting lives. Thanks to our cooperation, thousands of our people’s lives have been saved from Russian strikes. Today, this is the main goal — to save as many lives as possible. To stop Russian terror. To force Russia to think about peace, not about expanding the war. These are absolutely clear objectives," Zelenskyy wrote.

According to the president, maximum political and diplomatic coordination will now be involved. This specifically concerns the development of joint defense projects and weapons production.

Investments in manufacturing and the development of defense cooperation will be increased.

"Thirdly, sanctions against Russia for the war which will genuinely prevent the scaling up of Russian weapons production. In particular, we will provide our partners with a list of Russian enterprises involved in the production of Oreshnik (missiles - ed.) and other means that the Russians use for terror," the president stated.

He noted that all companies and individuals involved in this must be blocked at least in the key jurisdictions of the world. However, currently, most companies participating in the production of Oreshnik are not under sanctions.

"We will fix this. Cooperation with Russian weapons manufacturers is a crime against peace. That is exactly how it should be interpreted. Thanks to everyone who helps reduce Russia’s defense potential," Zelenskyy emphasized.

Zelenskyy’s visit to Britain

Today, June 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Britain.

During the visit, he met with King Charles III. His meetings with Starmer and the speakers of both parliamentary chambers, Lindsay Hoyle and Lord John McFall, were announced.

Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with Ukrainian defenders undergoing training in Britain.