Rishi in Kyiv to pledge £50m of drone busters

RISHI Sunak paid a surprise visit to Kyiv yesterday to pledge support for Volodymyr Zelensky, telling him: “Britain knows what it means to fight for freedom”.

- Marco Glannangeli

The Prime Minister used his first trip to war-torn Ukraine since taking office to promise a £50million air defence package to neutralise deadly drones.

It includes 125 anti-aircraft guns plus radar and anti-drone electronic warfare equipment to counter unmanned aerial attacks.

Ukraine claims the Kremlin bought 2,400 such weapons from Iran, including Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones that detonate on impact.

Over the last week, Russia is believed to have carried out more than 148 strikes, leaving around 10 million people without power.

Mr Sunak described his visit to Kyiv as “deeply humbling”.

He told President Zelensky: “I am proud of how the UK stood with Ukraine from the very beginning. And I am here today to say the UK and our allies will continue to stand with Ukraine, as it fights to end this barbarous war and deliver a just peace.