Starmer pledges UK support as outgoing PM visits Kyiv, announces Gripen jet funding

Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for what would be his final visit as British prime minister, stepping into a country at war and a government in the midst of internal upheaval. He met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and, in an interview with Sky News, offered a clear assessment: Ukraine would win this war. The confidence was rooted not in wishful thinking, Starmer suggested, but in what he had observed of Ukrainian fighting capability. "What they've shown is that it's not just the size of your army, it's how you fight a modern conflict," he said. "And so they are probably the most effective fighting machine in Europe."

The timing of the visit carried weight. Starmer was days away from stepping down as Labour leader, and a new British prime minister would soon take office. Yet he wanted to signal continuity. The change in London's leadership, he said, would not alter Britain's commitment to Ukraine. "The resolve of the United Kingdom remains the same, it will not waver." To underline that pledge, the British government announced 300 million euros in funding to support the delivery of 16 Swedish Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine by 2029. The aircraft are capable of air-to-air combat, ground strikes, and reconnaissance—capabilities Ukraine has long sought to strengthen its air defenses.

But Starmer's visit coincided with a moment of political turbulence in Kyiv itself. On the same day, Zelenskyy moved to defend his recent decision to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's defence minister, a figure who had become popular both within government and among the public. Fedorov had earned a reputation as an innovator, particularly in developing drone technology that had become central to Ukraine's military strategy. His removal, however, signaled a deeper fracture: relations between the defence ministry and the country's top military leadership, headed by General Oleksandr Syrskyi, had deteriorated beyond repair. Zelenskyy's choice to back Syrskyi over Fedorov provoked immediate backlash. More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the presidential office in Kyiv on Thursday, holding signs demanding Fedorov's reinstatement.

The personnel shake-up extended beyond the defence ministry. Zelenskyy had also replaced his prime minister as part of a broader government reshuffle. These moves, coming as the full-scale Russian invasion approached its fourth and a half year, represented a test of Zelenskyy's political authority. Operating under martial law, he had no obligation to hold elections, but he had periodically reorganized his government. This moment felt different—more consequential, more divisive.

Meanwhile, the war itself continued its grinding toll. On Thursday alone, Russian and Ukrainian attacks on civilian areas across multiple towns and cities killed at least 12 people, according to local officials. A Russian guided bomb struck Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, killing three and wounding 15. Russian missiles hit the Black Sea port of Odesa, killing two and injuring six. Near Kharkiv, close to the Russian border, a drone attack killed one person. Further east, near Kupiansk, another drone strike killed three. In Donetsk region, one more person was killed. Ukrainian forces, in turn, shelled a settlement near the border in Russia's Belgorod Region, killing one person.

A separate incident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant—which Russia occupies—added another layer of concern. A drone strike killed Aleksandr Yakovlev, the chief engineer of the facility. Russia claimed Ukrainian forces were responsible; Ukraine rejected the accusation as baseless and said Moscow had offered no evidence. The head of Russia's state nuclear company, Alexei Likhachev, stated that a Ukrainian drone had struck a service vehicle near the plant. Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, condemned what he called an unacceptable attack on the facility, warning that it posed a serious threat to nuclear safety. The incident underscored how the conflict had extended into domains where miscalculation could carry consequences far beyond the immediate battlefield.