Outgoing PM in Kyiv for final meeting with Ukrainian president before leaving No 10
Senior Political Correspondent
Dominic covers the biggest stories of the day from Westminster. He has broken dozens of exclusive stories and was one of the winners at the MHP 30 To Watch Awards in 2025
Published 16 July 2026
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Ukraine for the final time as Prime Minister to reassure Volodymyr Zelensky of Britain’s “cast-iron support” for Kyiv.
The Labour leader will meet the Ukrainian president on Thursday, days before he is succeeded by Andy Burnham.
He travelled into the country via an overnight train, arriving at a Kyiv train station hours after Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Before his visit, Sir Keir said: “As we showed at the G7 and Nato summits in recent weeks, the UK and its allies are absolutely united against Russian aggression.
“I am so proud of what Britain has contributed. That work will continue, and our cast-iron support for Ukraine will always endure.
“Not just for them and for European security, but for families in Britain who have felt the cost of this war through rising prices.”
Sir Keir is spending his final days in office securing what he sees as his legacy, including his long-standing support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
His visit follows overnight ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv in which two people were killed and six more injured.
Emergency services said a fire had broken out at two storage facilities and nearby parked vehicles in the city centre after a barrage of Russian projectiles.
Paying tribute to Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “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. When I became Prime Minister, I knew the UK must not simply stand with Ukraine in the moment, but help build the foundations of its long-term security and success.”
He went on to insist that he had invested heavily in defence to put Britain “at the centre of a stronger Europe”.
However, Sir Keir has been repeatedly criticised for not going far enough to protect the country in the face of rising Russian aggression.
Last month, John Healey quit as defence secretary over the Prime Minister’s refusal to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on the military by 2030 in his defence investment plan (DIP).
Sir Keir also failed to set out a timetable for meeting the Nato target of 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence – plus an additional 1.5 per cent on wider security – by 2035.
Sir Keir with Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting in Kyiv in May last year Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
During Thursday’s visit to Ukraine, the Prime Minister will hear how allies can further meet Kyiv’s needs.
The first of 150 British-made artillery barrels is being given to Ukraine to strengthen its defence under a £61m contract with BAE Systems.
Earlier this week, it was also announced that Britain would be joining the €90bn (£78bn) loan to Ukraine.
Sir Keir said British firms would be able to bid for contracts funded by the EU’s Ukraine-support loan.
The loan is intended to help cover Kyiv’s most urgent defence and budgetary needs in 2026 and 2027, with two-thirds of the total allocated to military spending.
It was agreed amid escalating Russian air strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital in recent weeks.
Kyiv’s air defence systems intercepted five ballistic missiles on Tuesday in an overnight attack that Ukraine said had targeted military manufacturing facilities that produce long-range missiles and drones.
The aftermath of a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on Wednesday night Credit: Getty Images
Sir Keir has spent his last week in Downing Street highlighting the legacy of his little more than two years in office.
He began the week in Paris, where he attended a coalition of the willing meeting. On Tuesday, he celebrated Bastille Day in the French capital with Emmanuel Macron in a sign of the closer relationship he tried to forge with European neighbours as part of his post-Brexit reset.
The French president awarded Sir Keir the Legion d’honneur in recognition of his support for Ukraine and Europe.
During his premiership, Sir Keir oversaw the signing of a 100-year partnership between Britain and Ukraine aimed at fostering closer defence and trade ties.
I find it to be rather moving that Sir Kier has chosen to end his premiership with a visit to Kyiv.
Like Boris and the Tories, his own Labour people have pressured him out, even though he won by a landslide only two years ago.
“During his premiership, Sir Keir oversaw the signing of a 100-year partnership between Britain and Ukraine aimed at fostering closer defence and trade ties.”
That was the right thing to do.
Also, Andy Burnham has already stated in a Times OpEd that he would continue where Sir Kier left off in terms of Ukraine support.
Comments on this article have been trolled to fuck by Ukraine-hating magaputler scum.
Can you ever imagine Krasnov or VanZkov ever speaking so warmly about Ukraine?
The Guardian :
“Moscow warns that foreign troops in Ukraine would be seen as legitimate targets –
Members of the pro-Ukraine “coalition of the willing” this week reasserted their desire for such a force after a cessation of hostilities.”
“Any foreign troops in Ukraine would be seen by Russia as legitimate targets, Moscow says.”
“Back to Ukraine, Russia said that any multinational force sent by Ukraine’s allies to deploy there in the event of a peace deal would be unacceptable to Moscow, which would view it as a threat and a legitimate military target, Reuters reported.”
“Western allies in the pro-Ukraine “coalition of the willing” met in Paris this week and reaffirmed their intention to deploy such a force after a cessation of hostilities, in order to reassure Ukraine and help it to regenerate its forces.”
“In this context, we would like to reiterate that the deployment of any military contingents from countries of the so-called ’coalition of the willing’ to Ukraine is unacceptable to our country,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters.
“I repeat: this would amount, de facto, to foreign intervention and an escalation of threats to Russia’s security. We would regard such units as legitimate military targets.“
How is this venomous Nazi skank allowed to get away unchallenged with this putrid toilet effluent?
The presence of genocidal orcs on Ukrainian land is what is “illegitimate”, you fucking worm.