Zelensky congratulates Labour Party's Starmer on UK election victory
President Volodymyr Zelensky extended his congratulations to Keir Starmer, who became the next prime minister of the U.K. on July 5 after a resounding victory by the Labour Party.
Both Starmer and outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have consistently supported the U.K.'s commitment to Ukraine. As a result, the election was not expected to substantially alter the U.K.'s policy toward Ukraine.
"Ukraine and the U.K. have been and will continue to be reliable allies through thick and thin," Zelensky wrote on X.
"We will continue to defend and advance our common values of life, freedom, and a rules-based international order."
Beyond the prime minister, the election will likely result in other significant changes in the U.K.'s leadership. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps lost his seat in parliament, as did former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The Russia-friendly lawmaker George Galloway, who recently said that he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin more than Starmer, was also defeated.
Galloway previously worked as a presenter on the Russian state-run media outlet RT. He gained notoriety for saying that the Bucha massacre, in which hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were murdered by Russian troops, was "not a war crime," instead implying that it was staged.
At the same time, right-wing populist Nigel Farage, who has also made a number of controversial statements about Russia and Ukraine, was elected.
In June, Farage claimed that Russia was provoked into launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the expansion of NATO and the EU.
After the comments generated widespread pushback, Farage doubled down on the sentiment in an article in the Telegraph, in which he denied being "an apologist or supporter of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."
But he also said the West has "played into Putin's hands, giving him the excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway."
Farage claimed that he had seen the war coming "a decade ago."
In a separate interview in June, Farage said that he "disliked (Putin) as a person," but added that he "admired him as a political operator because he's managed to take control of running Russia."
Nate Ostiller
