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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Volodymyr Zelensky in London Tuesday that “the focus must remain on Ukraine” despite the US-Israeli war with Iran, as the Ukrainian president made his latest stop on a tour of European capitals.

Starmer welcomed Zelensky to his official Downing Street residence after the latter visited Paris last week, and ahead of a trip to Madrid on Wednesday.

The visits come as the Middle East conflict overshadows Ukraine’s four-year fight against Russia’s invasion.

The United States is pushing Kyiv and Moscow to agree to an elusive peace deal, but a third round of three-party talks has been derailed by the Iran war and no new date for discussions has been set.

Washington has also partly rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war conflict.

“I think it’s really important that we are clear that the focus must remain on Ukraine,” said Starmer.

“There’s obviously a conflict in Iran going on, in the Middle East, but we can’t lose focus on what’s going on in Ukraine and the need for our support,” he added.

Zelensky and Starmer signed a defence partnership aimed at leveraging Ukraine’s anti-drone expertise during the visit.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran late last month, Tehran has mainly used ballistic missiles to attack Israel, but it has relied on drones to strike targets in Gulf states.

The UK-Ukraine agreement will “boost global defensive capability against the proliferation of low-cost, high-tech military hardware, including drones”, Starmer’s Downing Street office said in a statement ahead of the signing.

The deal seeks to use Ukraine’s “expertise” fending off drones from war with Russia, as well as Britain’s industrial base, “to manufacture and supply drones and innovative capabilities”.

It would also provide 500,000 pounds ($670,000) to fund an “AI Centre of Excellence” to be integrated into the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

‘Unwavering support’

Addressing the UK parliament, Zelensky told MPs that 201 Ukrainian anti-drone military experts were in the Middle East to help defend the region against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which have been used by Russia in its war against Kyiv.

He said Ukrainian teams were already in the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and were heading to Kuwait. Another 34 experts were “ready to deploy”, he added.

“We do not want this terror of the Iranian regime against its neighbours to succeed,” Zelensky said in a 30-minute speech boasting of Kyiv’s anti-drone expertise honed during its four-year-long war with Russia.

Zelensky’s visit in London comes as his European allies have vowed to keep up support for Kyiv in the conflict with Russia.

“Our resolve is unbreakable,” said Starmer, reiterating the UK’s long-standing backing of Ukraine.

Earlier, Zelensky and King Charles shook hands during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.

“I thank His Majesty and the entire Royal Family for their unwavering support and solidarity with Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on X.

The Ukrainian leader was later due to meet NATO chief Mark Rutte in London, his spokesman said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

In the last few weeks, months, and even years, wars have dominated headlines. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Israel–Hamas conflict, and now the escalation of the United States–Israel war with Iran have all contributed to bringing defence and security back into the political debate.

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This tense environment has deeply influenced discussions in the European Union, with countries increasing defence spending and the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen proposing, in March 2025, the ReArm Europe/Readiness plan to support member states’ defence investments.

But is the European defence system ready to counter space threats?

To answer this and more of your questions, in this Q&A episode, Euronews Tech Talks spoke with Giulia Pavesi, lead of security and defence at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), and Jean‑Luc Trullemans, head of the European Space Security and Education Centre at the European Space Agency (ESA).

What is the state of Europe’s space defence system?

“Europe has shifted towards treating space as a core operational domain, rather than merely a supporting asset, increasingly interlinking space, defence and industry,” Pavesi told Euronews Next.

According to Pavesi, recent regional and international crises have pushed Europe to increase its space and defence planning. This decision, she explained, was also motivated by the desire to gain more autonomy from its international allies, such as the United States.

This shift, Pavesi said, is not only political, but also industrial. The increase in defence expenditures, she added, should be seen as an opportunity to ‘reimagine how to transform Europe’s space industry’.

In this space race, European countries are developing their national capabilities while also working with their neighbours to strengthen Europe’s collective competencies, she said.

“Europe is gravitating toward what could really be called a federated model for space defence capabilities,” Pavesi added.

One example of this federated model is the European secure satellite communication programme GOVSATCOM, in which countries pool and share satellite capacity with other European states.

Can European space defence systems counter threats?

Despite Europe’s increased interest and investment in space defence infrastructure, European space systems still face several challenges.

“We’re facing a space environment that is increasingly contested, congested and competitive,” Trullemans said..

Trullemans identified four main vulnerabilities of European space systems: growing dependence on space services for terrestrial activities, cyber threats, technological dependencies on external actors, and the congested orbit crowded with objects and space debris.

Despite these risks, Trullemans said he did not believe that ESA should decrease international scientific cooperation.

“The issue is not to reduce openness, but it’s to better manage the associated risk,” he said, highlighting, for instance, the importance of sharing data, but also controlling systems very thoroughly.

Closing partnerships with industry in the name of reducing cyber risks is also not an option for Trullemans. “The growing involvement of European commercial actors, from my point of view, is very positive, “ he said.

This may pose new challenges which can be addressed by developing European cloud and data processing capabilities and harmonising cybersecurity standards across agencies, institutions, and industry, according to Trullemans.

Additional sources • Johan Breton, sound editing and mixing