Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Zelenskyy in first overseas visit as top U.K. diplomat

Share
KYIV, Ukraine -

David Cameron travelled Thursday to the Ukrainian port of Odesa in his first overseas trip as Britain's new foreign minister, and pledged that the U.K. would continue providing military support until Ukraine 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 Ukraine his first diplomatic destination, and met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I admire the strength and determination of the Ukrainian people," he told Zelenskyy in a video posted by the president.

Cameron said the U.K. would continue to provide moral, economic and diplomatic support "but above all, the military support that you need not just this year and next year but however long it takes."

The two-day visit came as Ukraine faces several challenges on and off the battlefield.

Zelenskyy has struggled to capture the world's attention as focus has shifted to the Middle East and Israel's war with Hamas. Additional U.S. funding for Ukraine is jeopardized by political fights in Washington and the European Union says it can't provide all the munitions it promised. Meanwhile, Ukraine's counteroffensive has led to only incremental gains and the ground war appears bogged down in a stalemate as winter arrives.

Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, said Thursday that the land war was likely to remain essentially stuck for the foreseeable future. One official said neither side was capable of mounting a decisive offense and Ukraine's counteroffensive had not changed Russian President Vladimir Putin's aim to control Ukraine.

Zelenskyy thanked Cameron for visiting and told him that the divided focus in the world does not help his cause.

"A good meeting," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Thursday. "Weapons for the front, strengthening of air defence, protection of our people and critical infrastructure. I am grateful to the UK for its support!"

Cameron said he wanted to find out what Ukraine needs from its friends and also make sure it is not forgotten on the world stage.

"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."

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.

Cameron was prime minister when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. He launched a program to have the British Army train more than 22,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

After meeting with Zelenskyy and other officials on Wednesday, Cameron became the first U.K. minister to travel to the port city of Odesa since the war began.

The historic city on the Black Sea is home to the nation's busiest ports and serves as the one of the main shipping points for Ukrainian grain destined for world markets. The city and ports have come under fire since Russia in August declined to renew a deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain via the Black Sea.

Cameron was shown how Ukraine is fighting back against Russia in the Black Sea to ensure that grain is still reaching countries in the developing world, his office said, though it provided no details.

Since the collapse of the grain deal, a new corridor in the Black Sea has allowed 91 ships to export cargo.

"In the last three months, Ukraine has made remarkable progress in the Black Sea to drive the Russian Navy eastwards and open critical export corridors for Ukraine's economy and global food supplies," Cameron said.

------

Melley reported from London. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

For decades, Melven Jones couldn’t talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn’t even remember it.

The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

A strike by grain terminal workers at the Port of Metro Vancouver has ended, their employer announced Friday night.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.