By Kontur and AFP | 2024-07-19

LONDON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to the United Kingdom is reaping vows of support from London and other European capitals.

On July 19, he received a standing ovation from senior ministers as he became the first foreign leader to address the British cabinet in person since 1997.

Zelenskyy gave members of the new British government a rundown of the latest situation in Ukraine after a private discussion with new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer "told [Zelenskyy] that Britain would speed up delivery of aid to Ukraine," Reuters reported.

One day earlier, Ukraine was on the agenda at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in London, which brought together 43 heads of state and government from across the continent.

"It's very important to be here, for Ukraine, especially this tough period, for us during the war," Zelenskyy said at the summit near Oxford, England.

"For us it's very important to maintain unity in Europe because always this unity leads to strong decisions," he added.

Treaties signed

While at the summit, Zelenskyy signed long-term security cooperation agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

The next day, July 19, Ukraine and Britain's defense ministers signed an agreement to develop Ukraine's defense industry, according to Zelenskyy's office.

"The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on £3.5 billion [$4.5 billion] of export finance, to support its armed forces," the UK government said in a statement July 18.

London also announced that it had sanctioned a "host of oil tankers" that transport Russian oil.

"Alongside our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin's attempts to evade sanctions: we will not allow Russia's shadow fleet, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk," Starmer said July 18.

Ukraine's 'biggest ally'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, attending an EPC summit for the first time, insisted aiding Ukraine must remain a "joint effort" by Europe and the United States.

"European allies and Canada can of course do more, but it's extremely important that the United States continues to provide support to Ukraine," he told AFP on the sidelines of the summit.

"This has to be a joint effort between North America and Europe, and the United States is by far the biggest ally. So, I expect them to continue to support Ukraine."

"If we really want to negotiate a solution where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation, the way to get there is to provide more support to Ukraine," he added.

The United States has provided at least "$53.7 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022," according to the US State Department.

US military assistance for Ukraine since Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 totals approximately $54.4 billion, it said in statement July 11.

'Armory for the free world'

Earlier in the week, Kyiv and Prague agreed to launch joint production of assault rifles and ammunition components inside Ukraine, the countries' prime ministers said following talks in the Czech Republic.

Ukraine has been working to develop its own arms industry to reduce its dependence on Western military aid since Russian forces invaded in 2022.

"Today we have signed two important agreements, among others, in the defence industry. A new cartridge factory will be built in Ukraine," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a news conference July 16.

"The second agreement is the production of Colt CZ Group assault rifles in Ukraine," he told reporters at a briefing with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

"Ukraine has the intention and potential to become an armory for the free world, and we are grateful to the Czech Republic for its support of our aspiration," Shmyhal added.

'Continue the support'

Part of the production and staff will work from the Czech Republic, while Ukraine will be in charge of development, said Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova.

Czech-Ukrainian talks July 16 also focused on future training of Ukrainian soldiers on Czech soil, she said.

The Czech Republic is planning to train 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year after training the same number in 2023, she said earlier.

The Czech Republic -- a staunch ally of Ukraine within the European Union and NATO -- has provided substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.

It has received more than 600,000 Ukrainian refugees and shipped over military equipment worth $288 million to Ukraine since the start of the war.

Prague has spearheaded an international fundraising drive to buy ammunition for the Ukrainian army.

"For us it is important to continue the support of Ukraine, which fights for its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity," Fiala said.

"But we are well aware that it is also fighting for the security of Europe and for the democratic organization of the world," he added.