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Volodymyr Zelensky used his historic address to the UK cabinet to urge Sir Keir Starmer to “show leadership” and let Ukraine use British weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.
The Ukrainian president on Friday became the first foreign leader to address the cabinet in person since Bill Clinton in 1997, calling for support for his country’s “long-range capability”.
In his address to the cabinet, Mr Zelensky said that “if the restriction on Western weapons is lifted” it would help Kyiv to strengthen its defences and secure its frontline positions.
He said “it is possible to destroy” areas in Russia where weapons are being concentrated. On the subject of long-range capability, the president said: “We are still missing the main answer to this question,” as he told the prime minister: “I ask you to show your leadership.”
Mr Zelensky has said the ability to use Western weapons to strike inside Russian territory is important to Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Moscow.
The UK government has suggested that the deployment of British missiles is ultimately a matter for Ukraine, as long as international law is upheld. So far, the government has allowed Kyiv to launch British-made Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Crimea and mainland Ukraine, but has banned them from being fired at targets inside Russia.
Storm Shadows – precision-guided cruise missiles with a firing range of over 250km (155 miles) – have been used by the British and French air forces in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.
Earlier this month, Sir Keir appeared to signal that the ban had been lifted, saying it is “up to Ukraine to decide” how to use the missiles as long as the country complies with international law.
Downing Street was then forced to insist that government policy “had not changed”, with officials concerned that the decision could draw the UK into the conflict.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir said Mr Zelensky’s visit to Downing Street was a “real piece of history”, after the Ukrainian president was greeted by the cabinet with a standing ovation.
“This is a very, very important meeting for us, and you’re very welcome here,” the prime minister said. “It is a real pleasure and a privilege to be able to welcome you to Downing Street this morning. This is a real piece of history.”
He said that the president becoming the first 21st-century foreign leader to address the cabinet in person shows “the esteem you’re held in ... in this country and around the world”.
Sir Keir said that Ukraine has Britain’s “unshakeable support” and that Russia’s aggression is “unforgivable and cannot go unpunished”.
He said the UK will “double down” on its backing for Ukraine, and confirmed that he had accepted an invitation this morning to visit Ukraine again in the future.
Following Mr Zelensky’s address, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine on all fronts – from providing military and financial aid to ensuring that Ukrainians living here are supported and feel Britain’s central message – that the country is united behind them.
The cabinet also agreed that the UK takes pride in standing with Ukraine, according to a Downing Street readout of the meeting.
It came as officials from the three Baltic nations, each of which shares a border with Russia, told The Independent that now is the time for Britain to move into the “leadership” role in relation to Europe’s defence against Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Thursday, Frederikas Jansonas, chief adviser to the Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda, said there is a “strong need” for a nation to step up as the leader on defence while France is reeling from a difficult election and Germany is readying for one next year.
“When we are talking about Nato or Europe, there are not so many countries that could be leaders,” he said. “But leadership is strongly needed.
“In Germany, we have elections coming up. In France, they already had elections, and it is obvious that it will be difficult to form and work with a new government. Other countries have internal issues.
“So, I think, in this unstable world, Great Britain could and should be the one that takes leadership.”
His comments were reflected in the words of officials from Estonia and Latvia, two countries that are considered to be part of the first line of Nato’s defence against Russia beyond Ukraine.
An official from Estonia, which currently hosts 900 British military personnel as part of Nato’s enhanced forward presence initiative, intended to act as a deterrent against Russian attacks, said their country would “welcome the British taking a greater leadership role in developing European defence”.
Asked about the value of the EPC, Aleksis Zoldners, the Latvian prime minister’s press secretary, said: “It’s very good and important that the UK reconfirmed its commitment to European affairs and security.”
For Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled pro-democracy opposition leader of Belarus, Britain’s role in defending Europe is vital to defeating the “dictatorship” in her country as well, and in turn to defeating Putin.
Speaking to The Independent in one of the rooms at Blenheim Palace intended for bilateral meetings between leaders, Ms Tsikhanouskaya said that the victories of Ukraine and democratic Belarus are “intertwined” and that it is vital that Britain should lead from the front on both issues.
“This new [Labour] government can be leaders of Europe,” she said. “They already have a strong position regarding Ukraine. And the prime minister and [foreign minister] David Lammy are good friends of Belarus.”
Defence secretary John Healey said that the UK will provide military aid funding to Ukraine “for every year for the rest of the decade”.
“If we take the starting point that the defence of the UK starts in Ukraine, and if [Vladimir] Putin wins in Ukraine he will not stop there, then we must stand with Ukraine; we’re determined to do that,” he told Times Radio. “And it isn’t just that. We’ve stepped up extra support in these first two weeks in government.
“We’ve also confirmed the commitment of extra military aid funding this year, and for every year for the rest of the decade. As long as it takes.”
