UK defence firms discuss boosting support for Ukraine with Zelenskiy

LONDON (Reuters) - Senior executives from British defence firms including BAE and Babcock met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday to discuss the need to boost military support for the country in its conflict with Russia.

Zelenskiy was in Britain for a summit of the European Political Community (EPC) and the meeting in London also included representatives from Thales, MBDA and KBR as well as British defence minister John Healey and business minister Jonathan Reynolds.

"Meeting with industry leaders today, I emphasised the Government will continue to work in partnership with industry and the need to boost industrial production of vital military kit for both Ukraine and our own Armed Forces," Healey said in a statement.

Babcock will extend its contract with the British defence ministry by six months to provide maintenance and repair of military vehicles, Britain's defence ministry said.

Earlier on Thursday, Britain's new prime minister, Keir Starmer, hailed European unity at the EPC summit, calling for deeper defence and security cooperation in order to better support Ukraine.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Sandra Maler)