ISTANBUL
Ukraine’s defense minister said on Wednesday that his British counterpart and he discussed strengthening the country’s defensive capabilities in order to defeat Russia.
“We talked about the continuation of the training of our servicemen on British territory. We had the opportunity to shake hands with pilots who were trained in Great Britain and are already successfully using the Storm Shadow weapon,” Oleksii Reznikov said during a press conference with UK Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace after a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Reznikov said he and Wallace also discussed Ukraine’s NATO accession in the context of the upcoming summit of the alliance in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in July. They also discussed Kyiv’s vision regarding peace and stability in Europe using President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan.
Increasing Ukraine’s defensive capabilities in order to achieve victory, especially weapons that make it possible to inflict damage on Russian forces at long distances, such as Storm Shadow missiles, were also discussed, he added.
Reznikov thanked the UK for supporting Ukraine.
“The world saw again the leadership of the United Kingdom, the world saw true friendship again, and the world saw that this leadership gives an edge on the battlefield,” he added.
For his part, Wallace said that Storm Shadow missiles received by Ukraine were among the first long-range missiles provided to Ukraine by its partners.
“We provided this kind of weaponry because of Russia’s continued use of its long-range weapons, which it uses to harm civilians and civilian critical infrastructure,” Wallace said.
Wallace had previously confirmed on March 11 that the UK would be providing long-range Storm Shadow missiles to the Ukrainian army, which he said would meet one of Kyiv’s longtime requests.
