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7 Quotes from the UK's New Labour Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, on Ukraine

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Audrey_macalpine
Audrey MacAlpine
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7 Quotes from the UK's New Labour Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, on Ukraine

Elections in the United Kingdom resulted in a sweeping victory for the Labour Party. On Friday, July 5th, the outgoing Prime Minister from the Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak, conceded defeat in the election. Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the UK’s Labour Party, will replace him as the Head of the British government.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Conservative Party has been in power in the United Kingdom. Boris Johnson, who became well known for his commitment to Ukraine, was the sitting Prime Minister at the outset of the invasion. He was followed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, who both kept mainly with the status quo. But what will the overwhelming victory by the Labour Party in the UK elections mean for the war, and will Starmer show the same support for Ukraine?

Here are seven quotes from the new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Ukraine about Britain’s support and the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

Seven quotes from the new Head of the British government Sir Keir Starmer: 

  1. "...the Labour Party supports and [will] maintain the defense, training, and technological support the current UK government is providing,” said Starmer following a February 2023 visit to Kyiv.

  2. "Should there be an election next year and a change of government, the position on Ukraine will remain the same," Starmer said following a visit to Irpin.

  3. "The last thing anyone in Ukraine wants is to see political parties back in the U.K. squabbling about something that is life or death for them," Keir Starmer, May 19th, 2024. 

  4. “What we need to do is to continue to provide that level of support, continue to support the Ukrainians, and ramp up those sanctions which need to go beyond just isolating Russia…They have to cripple its ability to function.” Keir Starmer told BBC 4 in 2022.

  5. There is no place for the false equivalence between Russian aggression and the actions of NATO in the Labour Party that I lead,” Keir Starmer. 

  6. “There’s going to be a reset for the UK on the International Stage. We will be serious about our obligations; we want to play more of a leading role on the global stage and say that we’re back.” Keir Starmer told the Financial Times.

  7. “ I’m here to reaffirm our unshakable commitment to NATO and our unshakable commitment to Ukraine” Starmer told the BBC while visiting British troops at the NATO base in Estonia in December 2023. 

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