Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared that Europe is a 'global force' that no other power can stand against, in a speech to UK MPs and peers. Addressing a committee room in Westminster, he urged European leaders to protect the continent so that future generations will remember they acted when it mattered.
Zelenskyy highlighted the cooperation between Iran and Russia, calling them 'brothers in hatred' for their use of Shahed kamikaze drones. He noted that Ukraine's experience in combating drone warfare has produced expertise now offered to Middle Eastern countries, and suggested the technology could have helped protect RAF Akrotiri from a recent drone strike.
The Ukrainian president also called for continued UK-Ukraine collaboration, saying that people in Kyiv and London should never have to 'hide under a drone nest'. He demonstrated an iPad used by Ukraine to coordinate air defences, and revealed he had given one to King Charles, who asked for another but was told none were available; the King then said he would share his with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Earlier, Starmer had reassured that the war in Iran would not distract the UK from supporting Ukraine. The speech comes amid tensions following a leak inquiry into how a journalist obtained details of a National Security Council meeting about the Iran conflict.
