Wes Streeting has visited Ukraine for the first time since he became Defence Secretary.
In a post on X, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Mr Streeting discussed how London and Kyiv could jointly protect people who face “ballistic threats” from Russia.
The post was accompanied by a short video of Mr Zelensky and Mr Streeting shaking hands, before the pair are seen sitting opposite each other at a meeting.
“It was a pleasure to welcome Wes Streeting to Kyiv for the first time,” Mr Zelensky wrote.
“We appreciate that his visit comes right after yet another Russian attack on our people.
“I briefed (Mr Streeting) on the consequences of this onslaught against life and on our needs, as Russia seeks to significantly ramp up its ballistic missile production ahead of winter.
“We discussed how the UK could help Ukraine better protect our cities and communities from such ballistic threats – both bilaterally and multilaterally – just as it has done many times before by helping secure supplies of scarce defensive equipment.
“In particular, we discussed opportunities to establish coproduction of certain types of weaponry, as both the UK and Ukraine possess strong battle-proven capabilities.
“We also discussed sanctions against Russian enterprises involved in the production of ballistic missiles.
“Every effort to undermine Russia’s war machine and its bet on ballistic terror matters.”
The Ukrainian leader also wrote: “Thank you to the United Kingdom, His Majesty (the King), the Prime Minister and the British people for your unwavering support.”
Mr Streeting was named the Defence Secretary last month, when Andy Burnham became the Prime Minister.
Since he got hold of the keys to No 10, Mr Burnham has hosted Mr Zelensky, taking him to a naval base in Portsmouth.
The Prime Minister told the Ukrainian president: “Volodymyr, you are the first leader I have welcomed in person since taking office, and that is no accident.
“It is intended to send a very clear message: we are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.”
At the visit in Hampshire last week, Mr Burnham announced that Britain will hand over the intellectual property behind its new Stone Cloak signal-jamming system, enabling Ukraine to produce the technology at scale.
The tablet-sized device is designed to stop Russia detecting the drones it is fitted to.
The move will help drones “hit their targets and save Ukrainian lives”, the Prime Minister said.
