Russian ambassador to London names purpose of British PM's trip to Kiev

The purpose of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's trip to Kiev on 16 January was to promote the inadmissibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This statement was made by Russian Ambassador to London Andrei Kelin on January 27.

"There can be no doubt that the main objective of Starmer's trip right before the inauguration of [ US President] Donald Trump was to work to prevent a peaceful settlement, which does not seem to be in London's interests," he told TASS.

Kelin noted that the British prime minister's earlier pathos-sounding statements about the "century-long partnership" and the "unbreakable bond" between the UK and Ukraine "are hard to take seriously." These statements by Starmer and observers in London are commented on with deep irony, the Russian ambassador added.

"Kiev in this context should recall the famous dictum of Lord Palmerston, Foreign Secretary of the British Empire, according to which Britain has neither eternal allies nor permanent enemies. Only its interests are eternal and permanent," the diplomat said.

In addition, Kelin drew attention to the fact that from the texts of the British-Ukrainian agreement and declaration it became obvious that "the colonial thinking characteristic of the British ruling class of the XIX century has not been eradicated to this day, and London is driven by the idea of enslaving Ukraine". According to him, everything said and signed by Starmer in Kiev on the day of his visit speaks of "new extremely provocative plans of the British with regard to Ukraine, of course, in the context of geopolitical containment of Russia".

Kelin also emphasized that the Russian side cannot ignore the fixation on paper of the ideas of establishing military bases on the territory of Ukraine and forming some kind of joint "response groups." In addition, he added, the commitments on the part of London to help Kiev with the development of long-range weapons cannot be ignored.

"All this is superimposed on discussions about the deployment in Ukraine in one form or another of contingents from Britain and other Western countries under the guise of 'peacekeepers,'" the Russian diplomat summarized.

A hundred woes ahead: what Zelensky and Starmer agreed on in Kiev

And what benefit London will try to gain once the conflict in Ukraine is over

Earlier, on January 21, British analyst Alexander Mercouris said that Starmer's visit to Kiev to sign a 100-year treaty with Ukraine demonstrates London's complete detachment from reality regarding the Ukrainian conflict. He also noted that Starmer himself had no idea what was going on if he signed such an agreement.

On January 18, the leader of the British Heritage Party, David Curtin, called on the authorities to normalize relations with Russia. He noted that Starmer is focused on the interests of globalists to the detriment of the interests of the British people.

Prior to that, on January 16, Starmer arrived in Kiev. During the visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term of office expired on May 20, 2024) and the British Prime Minister signed an agreement on strategic partnership between the countries. At the same time, the British government announced military aid to Ukraine amounting to a record £4.5 billion (almost $5.5 billion) in 2025.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.