Ukraine-Russia war latest: ‘Explosions’ in Kyiv as Starmer visits city

Vladimir Putin’s troops have attacked Kyiv as British prime minister Keir Starmer walked around the war-torn city on Thursday.

Ukrainian air defences rushed to down a Russian drone after explosions were reported throughout the Ukrainian capital during Sir Keir’s visit.

There were no casualties as a result of the day-time attack, but a car was damaged by falling debris, according to a city official.

The Italian defence chief was also in Kyiv on Thursday, two days after Germany’s defence minister visited and three days after Zelenskyy talked by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.

These visits are intended to reassure Ukraine but also signal to the US that Europe is getting serious about defending Europe, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley writes.

Trump’s recent demand that Nato nations should spend 5 per cent off the Gross Domestic Product on defence is being seen as difficult, but not unreasonable.

There are also signs that the Europeans don’t fully trust Trump in dealing with Russia over Ukraine and fears that he might favour the Kremlin over America’s long term allies.

Britain says its 100-year pledge is part of that assurance and will help ensure that Ukraine is “never again vulnerable to the kind of brutality inflicted on it by Russia”.

This bilateral agreement is intended to offset any decline in multilateral Nato support. The UK will be committed to work with Ukraine in defence, especially in the Black Sea, and drone technology.

Keir Starmer joining the rush of European leaders to Kyiv to offer support for Ukraine and, in Britain’s case a 100 years of defence cooperation is because the threat is real, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley writes.

Donald Trump has signalled that he’s sympathetic to Vladimir Putin’s reasons for invading the sovereign nation and unsympathetic to its plans to join Nato.

Europe is, too late, waking up to the fact that soon US aid to Ukraine may be strangled off. Under Joe Biden, military aid of about $60 billion helped keep the Russian invaders at bay.

But it was restricted and only recently have the Ukrainians have been able to use what little they have been given to fight off the Russians with attacks inside their enemy’s national borders.

Starmer will sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv covering areas including defence, science, energy and trade on his visit.

The 100-year “historic partnership” signed by the UK and Ukraine will see the flow of more military and economic aid to Kyiv.

It will also include increased military collaboration on maritime security and drone technology, as well as healthcare, Downing Street said.

Technology partnerships in areas such as agri-tech, space and drones will also be included, according to the prime minister’s office.

“From working together on the world stage to breaking down barriers to trade and growth and nurturing cultural links, the mutually beneficial partnership will see the UK and Ukraine advocate for each other to renew, rebuild and reform for generations to come,” No 10 said.

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to uphold a 100-year partnership with Ukraine as he visited the war-torn country on Thursday.

Sir Keir said the UK and Ukraine were “closer than ever” and the partnership would take the friendship of the two countries to the next level during his surprise visit to Kyiv.

As he was struck by the “grim reminder” of war while visiting a burns hospital unit in Kyiv, he pledged more military and economic aid, as well as drone technology and healthcare.

The UK is considering sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine after any potential deal to end the conflict, it has been reported.

The idea would see British and French soldiers deployed to the country and has been championed by French president Emmanuel Macron.

It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he would discuss the plan with Keir Starmer during the British prime minister’s visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

Sir Keir is not fully signed up to the proposal, with the government considering  “the threat that those troops may be under and whether that is escalatory,” according to The Daily Telegraph.

Just hours after arriving in Kyiv on a surprise visit to Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to journalists while inside a burns unit at one of the capital’s hospitals.

“[This] is a grim reminder of the heavy price Ukraine is paying,” he said.

“So we must give the necessary support, and that’s what I’m discussing with President Zelensky today. We must never let up on that and we’ve been leading the way.”

Sir Keir has arrived to sign a 100-year partnership which will see further economic and military support for Ukraine.

He said: “So I’m here for both those purposes but the main one is to make sure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position during 2025.”

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war had been a failure, and “one of the consequences of this conflict has been to draw Nato more strongly together”.

“It’s bigger and stronger than it has been, and we must stand behind Ukraine for as long as it takes.

“But when we say Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position, that can’t be just words. And that’s why I’ve had such intense discussions with President Zelensky over the months that I’ve been Prime Minister and will again here in Ukraine.”