Air raid sirens and explosions were heard in Kiev during the visit of the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. According to reports, the explosions occurred no more than 7-800 meters from where Crosetto was at the time, having flown to the Ukrainian capital for an official mission in which he was supposed to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in the afternoon.
As reported by France Presse, an aerial siren sounded in the city only to be followed by loud explosions, while a drone flew over the center of the capital during the visit of the two politicians. “The air defense is in operation,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Shortly before, the Ukrainian Air Force had reported that an “enemy drone” was approaching the capital from the east.
The Iron Pact with the United Kingdom
Labour’s Starmer, on his first visit to Ukraine since being elected prime minister in July, has come to forge an ironclad pact with the country and ensure defense and support for a period of 100 years. To do so he will sign a defence, energy and trade treaty with Zelensky, Downing Street said in a statement.
Mykhailivska Square. Together with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, @Keir_Starmerwe commemorated the fallen defenders of Ukraine.
We honor and remember the heroic deeds of our warriors. May the memory of all those who gave their lives defending Ukraine be eternal. pic.twitter.com/BWLofYozzX
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 16, 2025
Ukraine, whose army is exhausted after three years of Russian invasion, and its European allies fear a possible American disengagement, as Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war quickly. The “main” goal is “to make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position in the year 2025,” Starmer told British media as he visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers in hospital. The number of wounded “is a sad reminder of the heavy price Ukraine is paying” in this war, he argued.
Western troops in Ukraine
“We must therefore provide the necessary support” and “never abandon our efforts”, assured the prime minister, who also laid flowers together with President Zelensky in front of the monument to the Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war with Russia. Zelensky said he and Starmer would discuss the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine to oversee a possible ceasefire agreement, a proposal initially floated by French President Emmanuel Macron.