The U.K. government did not give Ukraine permission to use its Storm Shadow long-range missiles in Kyiv's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, The Telegraph reported on Aug. 13, citing an undisclosed government source.
The British sanctions list includes Denis Tolstenkov, Andrei Palchyk, Filip Sturchanka, and Aleksey Lazarenko, the heads of four Belarusian penal colonies where political prisoners and activists are illegally detained.
The news that the development of an IT system used by British nuclear submarine engineers was outsourced to Belarusian developers has led to calls that the U.K. must carry out an urgent review of defense supply chains, the Telegraph reported on Aug. 3.
According to a British military handbook, Russian intelligence has shown particular interest in Operation Interflex, the U.K.-led program providing training to some 34,000 Ukrainian recruits.
In late April, 20-year-old Dylan Earl from the U.K., who has alleged ties to Russia's Wagner mercenary group, was charged with orchestrating a blaze at an industrial estate in Leyton in March after being recruited as a Russian spy.
As part of a 48-hour visit to Europe, including France, Poland, and Estonia, British Defense Secretary John Healey signed the pact with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius at the Bendlerbloc ministerial complex in Berlin.
Ukraine's Armed Forces announced on July 23 that another batch of its soldiers were in the U.K., learning how to use possibly the best-named weapon on the battlefield – Starstreak. "The Starstreak missile travels at more than three times the speed of sound and can hit a target multiple times
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and recently appointed ambassador to the U.K., delivered a speech at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies in London on July 22.
"He is entitled to his opinion. He is acting in the best interests of Ukraine and can afford to do so because he knows the position of our president and the position of Ukrainians," Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said.
Key developments on July 19: * Ukraine aims to end 'hot stage' of war by end of 2024, Zelensky says * UK signs agreement to support Ukraine's domestic arms industry * Ukraine's military intelligence rules out 'powerful Russian offensives' in new directions * 'A very big Russia problem' – NATO commander warns of post-Ukraine war
The U.K. and Ukraine signed an agreement that provides credit support for the development of Ukraine's defense industry, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on July 19.
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British government at a Cabinet meeting on July 19, where he asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "show your leadership" in helping Ukraine use Western-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia.
Zelensky's speech will mark the first time a foreign leader has delivered an in-person address to the U.K. Cabinet since former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1997.
"I'm not going to preempt what may happen in the elections later this year, other than to say that industrial strategy is a very important component of the package that we need to put together," Keir Starmer said.
President Volodomyr Zelensky met with Britain's King Charles on July 18, and in a post on social media thanked the U.K. for being "one of Ukraine's closest and most important allies."
London imposed sanctions on 11 more tankers that help Russia carry oil to third countries on July 18, the U.K. government announced.
“The fewer restrictions we have on the use of effective weapons, the more Russia will seek peace,” Zelensky said, addressing the Fourth European Political Community summit in the U.K. on July 18.
President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in the U.K. on July 18, where immediately met Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and recently-appointed ambassador to the U.K.
King Charles III emphasized continued support for Ukraine, aiming for a leading role in facilitating Ukraine's path to NATO membership.
An "unspecified number" of governments are expected to approve the plan on July 18, during a meeting of the European Political Community hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the U.K., according to a draft statement.
Yampil, a bear that was evacuated from a zoo in Donetsk Oblast in 2022, has died after not waking up from anesthesia, Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland announced on July 13.
The situation "was more nuanced" than President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested, an unnamed senior defense source told the Telegraph.
Former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi assumed the role of Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom on July 11, Zaluzhnyi announced on Telegram.
Under the memorandum of understanding, which was signed amid the NATO summit, the Netherlands, the U.K., Latvia, New Zealand, and Sweden have already pledged €45 million ($41 million). More donations are anticipated.
The missiles are "obviously to be used in accordance with international humanitarian law" and "for defensive purposes," but "it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy (them) for those defensive purposes," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said during the NATO summit in Washington.
Less than 48 hours after the United Kingdom's new Defense Secretary John Healey took his post, Healey met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Odesa and announced a new package of defense aid.
"I am grateful to my counterpart for reaffirming the U.K.’s ironclad support for Ukraine in all areas," he said in a post on X. "We discussed next steps in our bilateral relations and also paid specific attention to the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington. [The] foreign secretary accepted my invitation to visit Ukraine."
The United Kingdom has been a leader in rallying world support for Ukraine, and we expect that to remain the same under a Labour government. Although Keir Starmer was elected as Labour Party leader under a non-interventionist platform, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shifted U.K. politics. There is
"Ukraine and the U.K. have been and will continue to be reliable allies through thick and thin," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.
A Rostov-on-Don court sentenced five citizens from the U.K., Sweden, and Croatia in absentia to prison terms ranging from 3.5 to 23 years on June 26 for fighting alongside Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale war, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office claimed.
Farage's comments echo Kremlin disinformation lines used to justify the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, namely that Russia was forced to start the war to protect itself from the threat from NATO.
Senator Mark Warner, who serves as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Russia and its proxies are "sowing discontent or trying to pit groups against each other (to) further social division" in the U.K.
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