Zelensky in UK on European tour seeking military aid

LONDON — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Monday with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pledged both air-defense missiles and long-range attack drones to Kyiv.

The United Kingdom is the fourth European country Zelensky has visited in the past few days. He made an unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, after trips to Germany and Italy. It's Zelensky's second trip to the UK since the conflict started in February 2022.

The UK has become one of Ukraine's major military allies, sending Kyiv short-range missiles and Challenger tanks and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil.

Last week, the UK announced it had sent Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers.

Sunak's office said that on Monday Britain was expected to confirm it is giving Ukraine hundreds more air defense missiles, as well as "long-range attack drones "with a range of more than 200 kilometers.

Move denounced

The Kremlin said it took London's promise to supply Ukraine with more weapons "extremely negatively," but at the same time believed the supplies wouldn't drastically change the course of the conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"Britain aspires to be at the forefront among countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine," Peskov said.

"We repeat once again, it cannot yield any drastic and fundamental influence on the way the special military operation (in Ukraine) is unfolding. But, definitely, it leads to further destruction, further action.… It makes this whole story for Ukraine much more complicated."

Zelensky and Macron met for about three hours at the French presidential Elysee Palace — an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader's arrival in Paris.

France had dispatched a plane to pick up Zelensky in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier on Sunday. On Saturday, he met Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

In Moscow, Russia's parliament was expected to decide on Monday when to formally denounce the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, or CFE, following President Vladimir Putin's decree on May 10.

The European armed forces treaty, from which Moscow is to withdraw, is contrary to Russia's security interests, Russia's envoy in charge of the withdrawal said in remarks published early on Monday.

"Any illusions of those who still hoped that Russia will return to the treaty, they will disappear," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

On the battlefield, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv's forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defenses in the embattled city of Bakhmut.

In a daily briefing, the ministry said that Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the Fourth Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks.

Agencies Via Xinhua