The UK will send hundreds of air defence missiles and armed drones to Ukraine plus more Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, May 15 following a surprise visit by Ukraine’s Volodimir Zelenskyy.

The meeting between Zelensky and Sunak is part of his tour of Western allies. In the last couple of days, Zelensky has met up with the leaders of Germany, France and Italy as Ukraine continues to prepare for a much-anticipated counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Zelensky said Ukraine and the UK were “real partners”, while Sunak’s spokesman described the meeting as “warm and collegiate”.

Zelensky said he discussed the supply of Western fighter jets with Mr Sunak.

New jets were a “very important topic for us, because we can’t control the sky”, the Ukrainian leader added.

“We spoke about it and I see that in the closest time you will hear some, I think, very important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on it,” he said.

Sunak said: “This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke.

“They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.”