Keir Starmer today received Ukraine‘s highest award for a foreign national as he made a farewell visit to Kyiv.
The outgoing Prime Minister, who is set to be replaced by Andy Burnham in Downing Street on Monday, was handed the Order of Freedom honour in the Ukrainian capital.
He looked touched as Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky surprised him with the award, which has only been given to 30 others, with Sir Keir saying: ‘It really means a huge amount.’
It came days after Sir Keir was awarded with the Legion d’honneur, which is France‘s highest award, for his work on Ukraine and European security by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky met in Kyiv on Thursday just hours after a series of Russian strikes that killed two and injured six, including a teenager.
On his final visit to Ukraine while in office, the PM vowed the UK’s support for the country in its fight against Russia ‘will not waver’ when he hands over to Mr Burnham.
He also used the trip to pledge £255million to help fund the delivery of a squadron of 16 advanced Swedish Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine by 2029 to strengthen the country’s air defences, while supporting some 5,000 jobs in the UK.
Sir Keir’s visit came on his final full day as Labour leader, with Mr Burnham due to take over the party leadership at a special conference in London on Friday before becoming PM on Monday.
Keir Starmer today received Ukraine’s highest award for a foreign national as he made a farewell visit to Kyiv
The outgoing PM and Volodymyr Zelensky inspected the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in the country’s capital
During a press conference at Mr Zelensky’s official ceremonial residence on Thursday, Sir Keir said said: ‘The fact that there will be a new PM in the UK in the days to come, doesn’t change that dynamic at all. The resolve of the UK remains the same, it will not waver.’
He added: ‘I say that with real confidence because it has not wavered since the outbreak of this conflict,’ and noted there had been intra- and cross-party unity on the issue and 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.’
The Government said the delivery of new fighter jets to Ukraine would support around 5,000 jobs across more than 50 UK companies involved in the global Gripen supply chain, including Saab UK in Fareham and Leonardo UK in Edinburgh.
The Gripen aircraft can be used for air-to-air combat, ground strikes and reconnaissance missions, and ministers said they would help modernise Ukraine’s air force and boost its capability to defend against Moscow’s unrelenting aerial attacks.
Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky ‘agreed that the increase in attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks was despicable,’ according to a Downing Street read-out of their bilateral meeting, in which the PM reiterated he was ‘certain’ UK support for Ukraine would continue.
Mr Zelensky, asked how five British PMs since the war started has affected his relations with government, said that he had built ‘strong relations’ with all of them.
He added that he hoped to build ‘new strong relations’ with the next PM and that he wanted to have a meeting ‘as soon as possible’.
The PM and the Ukrainian President watched a wreath laying in Kyiv
The visit comes after more deaths in the Ukraine capital due to Russian drone strikes
Sir Keir arrived in the Ukraine capital just days before he is due to hand over to Andy Burnham
Sir Keir arrived in Ukraine via an overnight train and was met by Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis and Directorate General for State Protocol Olena Yalova.
Alongside Mr Zelensky he inspected the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine, and took part in a wreath laying.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram that two people had died and six others, including a 16-year-old teenager, had been injured in overnight attacks.
The Russian defence ministry claimed it attacked Ukrainian military sites.
The trip comes after Sir Keir’s hopes of being PM when England lift the World Cup were dashed, with the team falling to defeat at the hands of Argentina last night.
Kyiv is facing its own political turmoil after Mr Zelensky sacked his defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
