UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to Ukraine on Thursday for a farewell visit, using his final overseas trip in office to reaffirm his nation's long-term support before handing power to his successor next week.
Starmer is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where he is expected to stress that the UK's backing for Ukraine will continue after Andy Burnham takes office as prime minister on Monday.
"Our cast-iron support for Ukraine will always endure," Starmer said in a statement released ahead of the visit.
"Throughout this conflict, I have seen the incredible fortitude of the Ukrainian people and the iron will of a nation that refuses to be cowed. Their stand has not only defended its own freedom, it has preserved the security of Europe."
The trip comes just days after Britain joined the European Union's €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan. A move that gives British defence companies access to contracts funded by the EU programme, and in turn, London will have to cover a share of €3 billion in annual interest rates, depending on how much its firms benefit.
