Keir Starmer has travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to emphasise Labour’s commitment to backing action to arm the country against a renewed offensive by Russia.
The Labour leader said the UK’s position on Ukraine would remain the same if there was a change of government next year, as he travelled to the suburbs of Irpin and Bucha where Russia committed significant atrocities last year as it was pushed back by Ukrainian forces.
“It’s incredible to see the evidence of atrocities that I’ve seen this morning. Photographs of civilians in the outskirts of Kyiv blindfolded, with their arms tied behind their back,” Starmer told Reuters.
He said he had travelled to Ukraine to express solidarity with the country and to emphasise the need to pursue justice and reparations against perpetrators. “There has to be justice for this. There has to be justice in The Hague and there has to be proper reparation in the rebuilding of Ukraine,” he said.
Speaking after his conversation with Zelenskiy, Starmer said it was a “constructive meeting” that had touched on the new military support Ukraine needs, as Kyiv continues to urge western leaders to give it fighter jets.
“We spoke about the need for that justice to cover both the use of Russian state assets for reconstruction and the need for there to be prosecutions for war crimes,” Starmer said.
“I was able to tell him that should there be a change of government when we have a general election here, the support for Ukraine will remain the same. It’s a very important message for me to be able to relay to the president face-to-face, and I’ve been able to do that this afternoon.”
Starmer said Zelenskiy was very concerned about whether Labour would continue support through weapons and training. “I stressed that the Labour party supports and would maintain the defence, training, and technological support the current UK government is providing,” he said.
“I’ve said throughout this conflict there will be no difference between the political parties on this, so we will continue to work with the government to see what further support we can provide.”
On Thursday night Zelenskiy ruled out any territory deal with Putin to end the conflict, warning that conceding land would mean Russia could “keep coming back”, while western weapons would bring peace closer. “Of course, modern weapons speed up peace. Weapons are the only language Russia understands,” he told the BBC.
The trip is the start of an international charm campaign for the Labour leader, during which he will visit the Munich security conference over the weekend for meetings with world leaders.
The Guardian reported last year that Starmer had approached the Zelenskiy government about the possibility of a visit as opposition leader. Starmer has previously visited the Polish border and British troops in Estonia to affirm Labour’s “unshakeable” commitment to Nato, which a Labour government helped to found.
The trip has been postponed previously, during the turmoil of the collapse of Liz Truss’s government and because of the security situation in Ukraine.
Starmer is not the first national opposition leader to visit Kyiv. Friedrich Merz, the head of Germany’s biggest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), travelled to the capital in May and was received by Zelenskiy.
Starmer is keen to portray himself to the Ukrainians as a reliable partner and strong supporter. At prime minister’s questions during Zelenskiy’s visit to London this month, he used all his time at the dispatch box to stress cross-party unity on Ukraine, rather than challenging Rishi Sunak.
He said Labour “doesn’t just hope for Ukrainian victory, we believe in it” and highlighted his time as a barrister representing victims of Serbian aggression at the international court of justice in The Hague. “We in this house have a duty to stand on the shoulders of giants and support Ukraine’s fight for freedom, liberty and victory,” Starmer said.
