There took place a meeting of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy with Mark Lancaster, Minister of State for the Armed Forces

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his gratitude for the support provided by Great Britain to Ukraine, for the assistance, in particular, of British military instructors rendered in training of Ukrainian servicemen.

He appreciated the British experts’ assistance in drafting the law on national security and defence, which, he hoped, would be passed next plenary week by the Parliament of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian Army remains to be a key element of the country’s defence.  I believe that the newly reformed armed forces will be the guarantor of peace for Central and Eastern Europe.  By this line of reasoning, joining NATO is a critical security element for us," emphasized the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada during the meeting.

A.Parubiy then stressed that for Ukraine "the issues of supporting Ukrainian political prisoners and exerting pressure on Putin to release them remain to be highly important".

The Parliament’s Speaker pointed out the need to maintain and expand sanctions against Russia, as "any tolerance in sanctions is considered by Putin as weakness".

The Minister of State for the Armed ForcesMark Lancaster greeted the guests from Ukraine and emphasized that "the support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is a mutually beneficial cooperation".  He expressed his condolences to Ukraine over the daily casualties in the conflict zone.

The Minister showed his interest in Ukrainian reforms and in reshaping the Armed Forces of Ukraine particularly.

The parties discussed launching a think tank for combating joint threats from Russia.

"To understand the ongoing war, one must realize that its military component is not the only one, and the lion's share of the hostilities sits in information challenges and cyber threats," said A.Parubiy.

During the meeting, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada stated that "he firmly opposes the North Stream 2".  Andriy Parubiy remarked on that for Ukraine "Great Britain’s position on the North Stream issue is of utter importance".

A.Parubiy notified the other side that the anti-corruption court law had been finally passed, and now "all efforts will focus on preparation of the law that will frame the groundwork for reforming the entire security sector of Ukraine".

"We are not a grey zone, but the shield of Europe.  We are safeguarding the whole continent, and in this context any support we receive from you is of high significance," underscored the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament.