Jack Maidment Politics Live
Blog Editor. Daniel Hardaker
16 January 2025
Britain will provide Ukraine with 150 artillery barrels “made by Sheffield Forgemasters”, Sir Keir Starmer vowed as he promised to give Kyiv “more military support than ever before”.
“We have already committed £3 billion for military aid this year and we’re going further to support the front line, providing a £2.2 billion loan which will be paid back not by Ukraine, but from the interest on frozen Russian assets,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’re also galvanising British industry, so today I’m pleased to announce that we’re providing 150 artillery barrels for Ukraine made by Sheffield Forgemasters.”
He said it is “the first time in over 20 years that these barrels were produced in the United Kingdom and they will start arriving in Ukraine in just a few weeks’ time”.
Sheffield Forgemasters is a South Yorkshire-based heavy engineering company specialising in complex steel production.
We are with you for 100 years, Starmer tells Ukrainians
Sir Keir Starmer has told Ukrainians that Britain is “with you not just today or tomorrow, for this year or the next, but for a hundred years, long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again”.
“Let’s be clear, we all want this war to end, no-one wants that more than Ukrainians, but right now (Vladimir) Putin shows no sign of wanting peace,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference in Kyiv.
A drone attack on the Ukrainian capital that occurred while he was visiting (see our post at 1.01pm) was a “reminder of the daily attacks and the resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it”, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister and Volodymyr Zelenskiy today signed a 100-year partnership agreement to deepen security ties and strengthen relationships between the two countries.
Starmer: We will deliver a new mobile air defence system to Ukraine
Britain will deliver “a new mobile air defence system” to Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer pledged during a press conference as he visited Kyiv for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Prime Minister vowed to work with Ukraine “on steps that would be robust enough to guarantee their security”.
“These conversations will continue for months ahead,” he added.
Pictured: Starmer meets Zelensky before bilateral talks in Kyiv
LIVE Starmer vows to put Ukraine in ‘strongest possible position’ in 2025
KEY MOMENTS
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position” in 2025 as he visited Kyiv for the first time since becoming Prime Minister.
The premier arrived in the country early this morning for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky and to unveil a new 100 Year Partnership between Britain and Ukraine.
The deal includes defence and scientific collaboration but will also forge new community links between the two nations.
His visit comes just days before Donald Trump enters the White House which could see a shift in US support for Ukraine’s war effort in favour of a push for a peace deal with Russia.
Sir Keir told broadcasters in Kyiv: “It’s very important we ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.”
Starmer pays tribute to US efforts in Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the US role in Ukraine during a join press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
The Prime Minister said: “The US role here is vital and we work together every day.
“I’d actually like to pay tribute to the work that the US done here, the support that they have put in because it’s been a vital component of what has been quite an incredible achievement by Ukraine.
“If I think about how long this conflict has gone on and the incredible success that Ukraine has had in the face of this aggression from Russia, that is a tribute to Ukraine, Ukrainians and their resolve, but also to all allies who’ve supported Ukraine, including the US.”
Starmer and Zelensky have ‘discussed sending Western peacekeepers to Ukraine’
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky have discussed a French-backed proposal for Western peacekeepers to monitor a future ceasefire, the Ukrainian president said, adding that it was “a bit too early to talk about details”.
The Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron have been discussing sending British and French soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force after any potential deal to end the war, The Telegraph understands.
The French president is championing the idea and has already talked about it with the Ukrainian president and Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister.
Is it necessary to announce who will be making these barrels? Politicians are so stupid it’s unbelievable. All Starmer had to do is announce that the UK will deliver 150 artillery barrels to Ukraine, and leave it at that.
The U.K. treasury will fund £3 billion worth of military aid.
Plus another £2.2 billion in the form of a loan, paid back from the interest on frozen putinaZi assets. That’s £5.2 billion, or $6.3 billion.
To put that in context, we spend £5 billion/year on “asylum-seekers”; a polite term for illegal immigrants. Unbelievably we put them up in £140/night hotels. These are parasitic chancers; rapey men of fighting age, from shithole countries with primitive beliefs.
Ukrainian asylum-seekers on the other hand are treated and funded in an entirely different way. They are not illegals, they have not crossed the channel in boats owned by people-smugglers. Instead, they have applied legally and been taken into British people’s homes. The system works well. Who would dream of taking eg Syrian or Sudanese men into their homes? Only masochists and lunatics.
I think a large part of Europe is guilty of this. It’s the main reason why neo-Nazis are on the rise.