LONDON
\nPresident Volodymyr Zelensky was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war.
\nZelensky landed by helicopter at Chequers, the British leader\u2019s official country retreat, and was greeted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It\u2019s Zelensky\u2019s second trip to the UK since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
\nThis is the fourth European country Zelenskky has visited in the past few days. He is seeking more aid as Ukraine prepares a long-anticipated spring offensive to retake territory seized by Russia.
\nUkraine\u2019s leader made an unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, after trips to Germany and Italy, where he met those countries\u2019 leaders and Pope Francis.
\nA message posted Monday on Zelensky\u2019s official Telegram Channel said: \u201cToday \u2014 London. The UK is leading the way when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.\u201d
\nThe UK has become one of Ukraine\u2019s major military allies, sending Kyiv short-range missiles and Challenger tanks and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Last week Britain announced it had sent Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles) \u2014 the first known shipment of the weaponry that Kyiv has long sought from its allies.
\nSunak\u2019s office said that on Monday Britain will confirm it is giving Ukraine hundreds more air defense missiles, as well as \u201clong-range attack drones\u201d with a range of more than 200 kilometers (120 miles).
\n\u201cThis is a crucial moment in Ukraine\u2019s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,\u201d Sunak said. \u201cThey need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.
\n\u201cWe must not let them down.\u201d
\nSunak will also push allies to deliver more support to Ukraine at a meeting of Group of Seven leaders in Japan later this week, Downing Street said.
\nAs Zelensky visited European capitals, Russia stepped up attacks across Ukraine with drones and missiles over the weekend. On Sunday, Russia shelled two communities in the northern border region of Sumy, the region\u2019s military administration said in a statement on its official Telegram channel. It said 109 explosions were recorded.
\nZelensky and Macron met for about three hours on Sunday at the French presidential Elysee Palace \u2014 an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader\u2019s arrival in Paris.
\nMacron\u2019s office said France will supply dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles \u201cin the weeks ahead,\u201d without giving specific numbers. Also promised were more air defense systems, but again details weren\u2019t made public.
\nMore Ukrainians will also be made battle-ready, with France aiming to train about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France this year and nearly 4,000 others in Poland as part of a wider European effort, Macron\u2019s office said.
\nFrance has supplied Ukraine with an array of weaponry, include air defense systems, light tanks, howitzers and other arms and equipment and fuel.
\nFrance had dispatched a plane to pick up Zelensky in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Sunday and discussed his country\u2019s planned counteroffensive.
\nIt was his first visit to Berlin since the start of the invasion and came a day after the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.
\nAfter initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks, and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Modern Western hardware is considered crucial if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counteroffensive.
\nIn the western German city of Aachen, Zelensky also received the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize, awarded to him and the people of Ukraine.
\nOn Saturday. he met Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
\nOn the European trip, Zelensky said Ukraine will aim to liberate Russian-occupied areas within Ukraine\u2019s internationally recognized borders, and not attack Russian territory.
\nThe Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a trove of US intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelensky has considered trying to capture areas in Russia proper for possible use as bargaining chips in peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. This would put him at odds with Western governments that have insisted that weapons they provide must not be used to attack targets in Russia.
\nAsked about the report, Zelensky said: \u201cWe don\u2019t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.\u201d
\n\u201cWe have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),\u201d he said, according to an official interpreter. \u201cAnd we also don\u2019t have weapons to spare with which we could do this.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are preparing a counterattack for the illegally occupied areas based on our constitutionally defined legitimate borders, which are recognized internationally,\u201d Zelensky said.
\nAmong areas still occupied by Russia are the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with mainly Russian-speaking populations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. Zelensky landed by helicopter at Chequers, the British leader\u2019s official country retreat, and was greeted by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-331471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n