Zelensky continues his European tour in the United Kingdom and meets with Rishi Sunak

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, has landed in London where he meets with Rishi Sunak. This trip is part of his European tour in which he has also met with the leaders of Italy, France and Germany,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday. As Zelenski has published on his Twitter account, the United Kingdom is the “leader” in military aid to the Ukrainian forces and during his visit he will be able to meet his “friend” Sunak, with whom he will speak face to face about the evolution of the conflict.

“This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will carry out substantial negotiations face to face and through delegations,” the Ukrainian president tweeted. The United Kingdom has been the first country to commit to sending long-range weapons to Ukraine.

This trip is part of his European tour in which he has also met with the leaders of Italy, Germany and France as well as with Pope Francis.

France to train Ukrainian battalions

Following his visit to France this Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to send new military aid to Ukraine. The country will train and equip several Ukrainian battalions with “dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks.”

“The military support given by France since the beginning of the war so that Ukraine can defend itself continues, as new equipment is being prepared, constantly taking into account the most urgent and immediate needs of Ukraine to strengthen its defense capabilities,” reads a joint statement.

The idea is that by mid-April, some 11,400 Ukrainian soldiers will have been trained by the European Union, confirms Peter Stano, the EU’s chief spokesman for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

In their meeting, both leaders agreed on “the need to increase collective pressure on Russia through more sanctions to weaken Russia’s ability to continue its illegal war of aggression.”

The French president has reaffirmed his support for the investigations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the aim of bringing the perpetrators of war crimes to justice. “There should be no impunity,” he stressed.

Germany promises military aid

On his first visit to Germany since the war broke out, Zelenski met German President Olaf Scholz. The idea was to get the country to participate in the “international coalition” that Ukraine is preparing to supply Kiev with fighter planes.

The meeting took place after Germany’s announcement to send the largest consignment of arms to kyiv since the beginning of the war, an aid package valued at 2.7 billion euros. The same amount approximately as delivered by Berlin in the entire conflict so far.

The new military package will consist of 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard autonomous anti-aircraft armored vehicles, four IRIS-T-SLM air defense systems, 20 Marder armored vehicles, 200 reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles; a hundred light APC vehicles, another hundred logistic support vehicles and ammunition, according to the German newspaper ‘Der Spiegel’.

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