KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his first overseas trip in his new job, pledging that the U.K. would continue providing military support for Ukraine’s war effort until it is victorious in its war with Russia.
Cameron, a former prime minister who returned to government in a surprise appointment Monday in a Cabinet shuffle, said he wanted to make Kyiv his first diplomatic destination.
“I admire the strength and determination of the Ukrainian people,” he told Zelenskyy, according to a video posted Thursday by the president.
Cameron said the U.K. would continue to provide moral and diplomatic support “but above all, the military support that you need not just this year and next year but however long it takes.”
Zelenskyy, who said he wanted to keep the world’s focus on Ukraine’s fight as attention has turned to the Middle East and Israel’s war against Hamas, thanked Cameron for the visit Wednesday.
“A good meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “Weapons for the front, strengthening of air defense, protection of our people and critical infrastructure. I am grateful to the UK for its support!”
The U.K. has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine in defending itself from Russia.
As of last month, the U.K. said it was second to the U.S. in providing military funds to Ukraine, giving 4.6 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) worth of assistance and training 30,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil.
“Russia thinks it can wait this war out, and that the West will eventually turn its attention elsewhere,” Cameron said in a statement Thursday. “This could not be further from the truth. In my first discussions with President Zelenskyy in my new role, I made clear that the U.K. and our partners will support Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes for them to achieve victory.”
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the meeting was Wednesday and announced Thursday.
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