PM Rishi Sunak pledges UK support will continue in visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv

Rishi Sunak met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during his first visit to Kyiv yesterday.

The Prime Minister pledged continuing UK military aid to the nation, unveiling a £50 million package of defence support including 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to help Ukraine counter Iranian-supplied drones. Sunak also laid flowers at a memorial for the war dead and met emergency personnel at a fire station.

He said: “I am here today to say the UK and our allies will continue to stand with Ukraine, as it fights to end this barbarous war and deliver a just peace.

“We are today providing new air defence, including anti-aircraft guns, radar and anti-drone equipment, and stepping up humanitarian support for the cold, hard winter ahead.

“It is deeply humbling to be in Kyiv and to have the opportunity to meet those who are doing so much, and paying so high a price.”

The news comes as the head of the nation’s biggest private energy firm said Ukrainians should leave the country to cut demand on the power network, which has been targeted by Russia in recent weeks.

DTEK chief executive Maxim Timchenko, whose company supplies more than a quarter of Ukraine’s power, said: “If they can find an alternative place to stay for another three or four months, it will be very helpful to the system. If you consume less, then hospitals with injured soldiers will have guaranteed power supply.”

Russia’s attacks on infrastructure increased after a series of setbacks on the battlefield.

Timchenko added: “Unfortunately, we have run out of equipment and spare parts. That’s why we appeal to our partners, government officials, companies and equipment producers to help us with the immediate supply of available equipment.”

His remarks prompted a warning that Scotland should prepare for a winter wave of refugees. About 13,000 Ukrainians, who have been granted visas to come to Scotland after fleeing the war in their country, have yet to arrive.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, whose family welcomed a Ukrainian refugee into their home in August, said: “We have to prepare for the possibility that they may all turn up.

“It may be that they’re finding it difficult to move across Europe, or that they’re holding on until the last minute. We can’t assume they’re not coming.”