Sir Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom's support for Ukraine "will not waver" and the coming prime ministerial transition will not "change that dynamic" during his final visit to Kyiv while in office.
The outgoing prime minister met Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, just hours after a series of Russian strikes that killed two and injured six, including a teenager. He also pledged 300 million euros (£255 million) to help fund a squadron of 16 advanced Swedish Gripen jets to strengthen Ukraine's air defences while supporting some 5,000 jobs across more than 50 UK companies involved in the global Gripen supply chain.
Canada has matched this resolve with its own multi-year military aid packages and close coordination with London through NATO and the G7. The two capitals have worked in lockstep on sanctions, training missions, and the coalition of the willing that Starmer joined in Paris this week.
Leadership change will not alter policy
Andy Burnham will take over the party leadership at a special conference in London on Friday before entering Downing Street on Monday. That handover of power would not change the relationship between the two nations, Sir Keir said at a press conference at Mr Zelensky's official ceremonial residence.
"The fact that there will be a new prime minister in the United Kingdom, in the days to come, doesn't change that dynamic at all," he said. "The resolve of the United Kingdom remains the same, it will not waver." He added that there had been intra- and cross-party unity on the issue since the outbreak of the conflict and noted the Ukrainian flag still flies above Downing Street.
Asked whether he was disappointed that he would not see an end to the conflict before leaving No 10, Sir Keir told reporters: "This isn't about me, it's about a country, Ukraine, that has faced an aggressor for now in the fifth year."
Zelensky honours Starmer
As the press conference got under way, the Ukrainian leader surprised him with an Order of Freedom honour, the highest award for a foreign national and only ever given to 30 others. Sir Keir looked touched and said: "It really means a huge amount."
Mr Zelensky, asked how five prime ministers since the war started has affected his relations with government, said he had built "strong relations" with all of them. He added that he hoped to build "new strong relations" with the next prime minister and wanted a meeting "as soon as possible." Asked if he was concerned about leadership changes in the UK and in France next year, he said: "Of course I'm afraid of changes, of course we are afraid because we are in the war each day. But again the priority is the relation between nations, not just between just people."
Sir Keir replied: "You won't."
Earlier, after they visited Kyiv's memorial wall, the Ukrainian president paid tribute to Sir Keir, thanking him and the UK "for their unwavering respect for our warriors" who had "made the ultimate sacrifice to defend Ukraine and all of Europe."
During the Kyiv trip, Sir Keir visited a residential area in the Podilskyi District that local emergency services personnel said was hit by Russian strikes on July 6. Eight residents died and at least seven were injured, while 41 apartment buildings were completely destroyed and more than 250 were damaged. The prime minister also met members of a war veterans amputee football team and watched a friendly match between Kolos-Bureviy and Shakhtar Stalevi.