On September 17, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Zahorodniuk held a meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine Melinda Simmons.

Minister congratulated Melinda Simmons on the commencement of the diplomatic mission in Ukraine and stressed the need for further friendly relations between the countries, in particular in the defense sphere.

"I am glad to welcome you at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine! The United Kingdom has been assisting Ukraine and, in particular, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine since the early days of Russian aggression. We are grateful and deeply appreciate support from our partners", stressed the Minister of Defense.

Andrii Zahorodniuk has also emphasized the importance of further enhancement of cooperation between the defense agencies of the two countries, creating new and improving existing areas of defense cooperation.

During the meeting, the Minister of Defense expressed a clear position on the immutability of the Euro-Atlantic course of Ukraine and emphasized the main priorities of the Ministry’s activity in the near future.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons congratulated the Minister of Defense on his appointment and assured that the UK Government’s course of support for Ukraine in political, defense and other fields will be unchanged.