UK premier offers condolences to Ukrainian leader after recent Russian strikes

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered his condolences on Tuesday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Ukrainians killed in recent Russian strikes as the war continues through the second winter.

During his conversation with Zelenskyy, Sunak offered his condolences to all those Ukrainians killed and wounded in Russian strikes over the Christmas period, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The UK will continue to support to Ukraine "throughout 2024 and into the future," Sunak pledged.

The leaders discussed recent developments in the ongoing war, including progress in the Black Sea and the success of the Ukrainian air defense, bolstered by UK-supplied ground-to-air missiles.

"The Prime Minister set out ongoing UK work to provide military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, including through further deliveries of lethal aid, support for President Zelenskyy’s peace plan and a long-term security framework," added the statement.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have exchanged accusations over airstrikes against each other that intensified since Friday when at least 40 people were killed in various regions of Ukraine in a massive air attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as the "heaviest attack" since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

A day later, 24 people were killed and at least 100 were wounded following a Ukrainian attack on the city of Belgorod, which Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a “terrorist attack” that “will not go unpunished."