UK, Ukrainian leaders discuss efforts to accelerate military support

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed ramping up military support to Kyiv in a phone call on Friday.

Sunak's office said the leaders discussed the latest situation on the battlefield "and the Prime Minister paid tribute to the efforts of the Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut."

The district, located in the Donetsk region, has been under heavy bombardment and intense clashes for weeks.

Discussing the efforts to accelerate military support to Ukraine, Sunak said the UK and its allies "needed to continue to ensure Ukraine was in the strongest possible position to build on its recent battlefield successes. That included increasing interoperability with NATO both in the short and long term."

Commenting on a recent video circulated on social media showing a soldier with a Ukrainian arm patch being beheaded, Sunak said the video was "appalling and those responsible had to be held to account."