UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street, with a stark warning that the Iran conflict must not allow Russia to benefit or distract the West from Ukraine.
The key message: Starmer said “Putin can’t be the one who benefits from a conflict in Iran” — pointing to rising oil prices fuelling Russia’s war machine and US sanctions on Russian oil being temporarily eased to manage Middle East-driven energy price surges.
What was agreed: A new UK-Ukraine defence partnership focused on drone warfare, combining Ukrainian battlefield expertise with British industrial capacity. The UK will also provide £500,000 to fund an AI centre of excellence in Kyiv.
Zelensky’s tour: The Ukrainian president is visiting European capitals to keep his war front-of-mind as allies are increasingly distracted by the Middle East. He also met King Charles at Buckingham Palace for a private 25-minute audience.
The Iran-Russia connection: Zelensky told around 60 MPs and peers in Westminster that Russia and Iran are “brothers in hatred,” highlighting Iran’s supply of Shahed kamikaze drones to Moscow — the same drones being used to strike Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian military experts have also been deployed to Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to help those nations defend against Iranian drone attacks.
The bigger picture: Now entering its fourth year, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine risks being overshadowed. Rising oil revenues are strengthening Moscow just as Western attention and unity are being tested by the expanding Middle East conflict.
