President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and discussed diplomatic efforts and defense support.

This was reported by the Office of the President.

“We are very pleased to welcome you to Kyiv. Thank you to you, your team, and your government for the great support throughout all these years of the full-scale invasion”, — Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasized the importance of the Paris Declaration and the Declaration of Intent between the United Kingdom, France, and Ukraine on the deployment of Multinational Forces to support Ukraine’s defense, recovery, and strategic resilience, which were approved and signed this week in Paris.

“I believe the Paris Declaration is the first good step forward — a real document to obtain security guarantees from Europe, from all of Europe. This is extremely important: after this war ends, we must have security guarantees. It was a strong signal for our people”, — the President stressed.

Zelenskyy and Healey discussed options for how the British contingent could operate alongside France if diplomacy succeeds in ending the war.

The President separately emphasized that strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s skies is critically important amid escalating Russian aerial terror. He informed about the consequences of Russia’s overnight attack on critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the Lviv region, including the use of a medium-range ballistic missile.

John Healey expressed condolences to all Ukrainians affected by Russian shelling and assured the UK’s readiness to assist in finding missiles for air defense.

“Putin continues to escalate; he continues to strike your cities and your citizens, and this only strengthens our readiness and determination to stand with you”, — the UK Defense Secretary emphasized.

The parties also discussed further strengthening sanctions against Russia to force it to end the war.

The meeting also addressed the implementation of agreements on joint defense production, particularly Octopus interceptor drones. Ukraine has already provided the necessary data and is awaiting the first batch for testing.

“This very month we will begin production of new, improved drones and interceptors, and next month we will start delivering them to Ukraine. After that, we aim to ensure that more than 1,000 such systems reach your defenders every month”, — Healey said.

He also informed about preparations for the February meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.