"In comparison to its peak personnel count of around 50,000 in 2023, Wagner now likely maintains around 5,000 total personnel across its residual deployments in Belarus and Africa," the ministry said.
Ukraine's parliament ratified the agreement on political cooperation, free trade, and strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.K., the parliament’s press center reported on Aug. 22.
The statement came after President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested in his Aug. 17 evening address that the U.K.'s "real leadership" on weapons and politics had "slowed down" amid London's hesitation to allow the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles against targets on Russian soil.
One British government source told The Times that the request has been effectively "stuck in their (U.S.) system," while another called it a "routine U.S. process."
The U.K. Defense Ministry previously confirmed that there has been no change of policy and Ukraine has the right to use British-supplied weapons – except for long-range Storm Shadow missiles – on Russian territory.
The arbitration court in St. Petersburg ruled to freeze the assets of Linde Russia UK Limited, a subsidiary of German-based Linde chemical company, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Aug. 14, citing Russian court documents.
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.
For many — Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians alike — Ukrainian cuisine might seem the antithesis of fine dining: greasy and meaty comfort food, the provenance of moms and grandmothers. The owners of the Ukrainian neo-bistro Mriya, which means “dream” in Ukrainian, located in central London, share anything but this perspective. Opening after the
"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.
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