Zelenskyi visits Britain for the first time since the Russian invasion

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an extraordinary travel from his nation on Wednesday, venturing to seek advice from Britain to shop for extra complex guns as Kyiv prepares for an anticipated Russian offensive and its personal plans to retake land hatched, held via Moscow’s militia.

Zelenskyy arrived on a Royal Air Drive airplane at London Stansted Airport, north of the British capital. Top Minister Rishi Sunak greeted him at the tarmac and tweeted a photograph of him hugging the Ukrainian chief.

“The UK was one of the first to come to the aid of Ukraine. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support,” Zelenskyy mentioned on Instagram.

It’s his first travel to Britain because the Russian invasion started just about a yr in the past and most effective his 2nd showed travel out of doors of Ukraine right through the battle.

A immense convoy of cars left the airport in a while nearest the airplane landed for central London, the place Zelenskyi will keep talks with Sunak at Downing Side road.

Zelenskyi can even cope with Parliament right through his seek advice from and meet with King Charles III. and meet British army chiefs.

The United Kingdom is one in every of Ukraine’s greatest army supporters, having despatched the rustic greater than £2 billion ($2.5 billion) in fingers and kit.

The seek advice from comes as Sunak introduced Britain would educate Ukrainian pilots in “NATO-standard fighter jets”. Ukraine has instructed its allies to ship jets, even though the United Kingdom says it’s impractical to provide the Ukrainian army with British fighter jets.

Greater than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have additionally been skilled at bases in Britain, some at the Challenger 2 tanks that Britain is sending.

“I am proud that today we are expanding this training from soldiers to include marines and fighter jet pilots, and ensuring that Ukraine has a military capable of defending its interests well into the future,” Sunak mentioned. “This also underscores our commitment to not just provide military equipment for a short time, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in the years to come.”

Zelenskyy addressed the British Parliament from afar in March, two weeks nearest the invasion started. He repeated the well-known accent of Global Conflict II chief Winston Churchill, during which he promised that Ukrainians “will fight to the end at sea and in the air. We will continue to fight for our country, whatever the cost.”

Sooner than Sunak took place of work, Zelenskyy had established a reference to Boris Johnson, who was once one in every of Ukraine’s maximum vocal supporters right through his future as British Top Minister. Sunak took place of work in October and has pledged to preserve UK help.

It is going to be Zelenskyy’s 2nd recognized travel in another country since Russia introduced its all-out invasion of Ukraine on February 24. He visited america in December.

Zelenskyy might search Western pledges of extra complex guns forward of imaginable spring offensives via each Russia and Ukraine.

Expectancies had been rising in Brussels that the Ukrainian head of situation may just additionally build his first seek advice from to the establishments of the Ecu Union because the starting of the battle.

Heads of situation and executive from the bloc of 27 countries will pack for a summit in Brussels on Thursday. That might permit Zelenskyy to satisfy with the entire bloc’s key leaders in a single hour. Zelenskyy has frequently most effective spoken about video calls from Ukraine at EU summits.

The MEP has additionally scheduled a distinct plenary consultation in Brussels for Thursday, hoping Zelenskyy will tied nearest his travel to the United Kingdom.

The seek advice from to London got here as Russian forces persisted to barrage grounds of japanese Ukraine, Ukrainian officers mentioned on Wednesday, which Kiev government say is a part of a unused push via Kremlin forces forward of the anniversary of the invasion.

Russian forces introduced weighty shelling on grounds akin the frontline in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv pocket latter hour, killing a 74-year-old girl and wounding a 16-year-old lady within the border the city of Vovchansk, native governor Oleh Syniehubov mentioned.

Russian forces in Ukraine are focusing their efforts on a “counteroffensive” within the nation’s commercial east with the purpose of taking complete keep watch over of the Donetsk and Luhansk areas that build up the Donbass, the Common Group of workers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine mentioned.

Russian troops introduced assaults akin Bakhmut and Vuhledar, two mining cities within the Donetsk pocket that had been amongst Moscow’s lead objectives, Ukrainian officers mentioned.

The seizure of Bakhmut may just critically disrupt Ukraine’s army provide routes. It might additionally observable the door for Moscow forces to move in opposition to the primary Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk.

Ukrainian government say the Kremlin’s purpose is to achieve whole keep watch over of the Donbass, a sprawling commercial section at the border with Russia. That might give Russian President Vladimir Putin a big victory at the battlefield nearest months of setbacks and support him win nation opinion for the battle.

Army analysts say the battle has in large part stalled in fresh months nearest a Ukrainian counteroffensive that started latter summer time and retook immense grounds from Russia.

Russia could also be now looking to fracture via Ukrainian traces akin the Donetsk cities of Avdiivka and Marinka, in addition to akin Kreminna, a frontline the city within the Luhansk pocket that lies on a key Russian provide path, the Ukrainian Common Group of workers mentioned.

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Raf Casert contributed to this document from Brussels.

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Apply AP’s protection of the battle at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Jill Lawless, The Related Press

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