Ukrainian soldiers sit in a pickup in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A boy tramples the Russian flag in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Kherson resident kisses a Ukrainian soldier in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Ukrainian soldier writes: "From the Ukrainian Armed Forces" on the national flag for a local resident in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A girl wrapped in the national flag exchange flowers with a Ukrainian soldier in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian soldiers ride in a car past a billboard reading "Russia is here forever!" in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A boy holds a Ukrainian flag in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A girl wrapped in the national flag hugs a Ukrainian soldier in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Kherson residents react as a Ukrainian soldier writes his wishes for a man wrapped in the national flag in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Kherson residents applaud as a Ukrainian soldier writes his wishes for a man wrapped in the national flag in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A local resident removes the Russian flag from a billboard in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Ukrainian soldier talks with a local in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Ukrainian soldier writes wishes on the national flag for a local resident in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Ukrainian soldier writes: "From the Ukrainian Armed Forces" on the soccer ball of a local resident in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A young woman wearing a traditional folk flower wreath holds a Ukrainian flag in central Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A view of destroyed by fightings apartment buildings in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) Windows of an apartment building are illuminated during a blackout in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) A Kherson resident hugs a Ukrainian defence force member in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine's biggest successes in the nearly nine months since Moscow's invasion. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Residents gather next to an internet hotspot in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine's biggest successes in the nearly nine months since Moscow's invasion. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Residents gather next to an internet hotspot in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine's biggest successes in the nearly nine months since Moscow's invasion. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to soldiers during his visit to Kherson, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Ukraine's retaking of Kherson was a significant setback for the Kremlin and it came some six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Kherson region and three other provinces in southern and eastern Ukraine — in breach of international law — and declared them Russian territory. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) Police officers work outside a grain depot where, according to the Polish government, an explosion of a Russian-made missile killed two people in Przewodow, Poland, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Poland said Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the country’s east, killing two people, though U.S. President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely” it was fired from Russia. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk) A police officer checks a vehicle outside a grain depot where, according to the Polish government, an explosion of a Russian-made missile killed people, in Przewodow, Poland, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Poland said Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the country’s east, killing a few people, though U.S. President Joe Biden said it was “unlikely” it was fired from Russia. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk) Police officers gather outside a grain depot in Przewodow, eastern Poland, on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022 where the Polish Foreign Ministry said that a Russian-made missile fell and killed two people. The ministry said Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau summoned the Russian ambassador and "demanded immediate detailed explanations." (AP Photo) Police officers gather outside a grain depot in Przewodow, eastern Poland, on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022 where the Polish Foreign Ministry said that a Russian-made missile fell and killed two people. The ministry said Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau summoned the Russian ambassador and "demanded immediate detailed explanations." (AP Photo) People charge their phones, try to connect to the internet and make phone calls, in central square in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A damaged building seen at the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Strikes hit residential buildings in the heart of Ukraine's capital Tuesday, authorities said. Further south, officials announced probes of alleged Russian abuses in the newly retaken city of Kherson, including torture sites and enforced disappearances and detentions. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) People receive humanitarian aid on central square in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A woman kneels on the ground in front of passing Ukrainian Army car in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) People receive humanitarian aid on central square in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the scene of a Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Strikes hit residential buildings in the heart of Ukraine's capital Tuesday, authorities said. Further south, officials announced probes of alleged Russian abuses in the newly retaken city of Kherson, including torture sites and enforced disappearances and detentions. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) People charge their phones, try to connect to the internet and make phone calls, in central square in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) People charge their phones, try to connect to the internet and make phone calls, in central square in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) People collect water from a Dnipro river in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) People collect water from a Dnipro river in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Waves of Russian airstrikes rocked Ukraine on Tuesday, with authorities immediately announcing emergency blackouts after attacks from east to west on energy and other facilities knocked out power and, in the capital, struck residential buildings. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A Ukrainian sapper carries a part of a projectile during a demining operation in a residential area in Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) A Ukrainian sapper collects unexploded projectiles during a demining operation in a residential area in Novoselivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Ukrainian sappers inspect a destroyed building during a demining operation of a residential area in Novoselivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Ukrainian sappers inspect territory during a demining operation of a residential area in Novoselivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Ukrainian sappers inspect territory during a demining operation of a residential area in Novoselivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) A dog with a lighted collar walks in a street during a blackout in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) Residents gathering at an aid distribution point receive supplies in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) A woman carries bread after receiving it at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) A resident waves to Ukrainian security forces in the Kherson area, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Ukrainian soldiers change their position at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Chop) A Ukrainian soldier fires an anti-tank missile at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Chop) Residents gathering at an aid distribution point receive supplies in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Residents search among clothes donations at a distribution point in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) People receive food at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) People receive food at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Residents search among clothes donations at a distribution point in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) People receive food at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) People carry food after collecting it at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) An Orthodox Church is seen amid destruction after shelling in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) People carry food after receiving it at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Local residents stands on the street in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) A woman carries a box with food after receiving it at a humanitarian aid point in the village of Drobysheve, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, walks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, speaks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) People hug upon the arrival of the first train from the capital Kyiv, after the Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick) Passengers unload with luggage as they arrive on the first train from the capital Kyiv, after the Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick) Passengers hold a bouquet of flowers as they disembark from the first train to arrive from the capital Kyiv, after the Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick) Mykola kisses his wife Lyudmila upon her arrival on the first train from the capital Kyiv after the Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick) People stand on a bridge and in the street as they welcome the first train to arrive from the capital Kyiv, after Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised 125 anti-aircraft guns and other air-defense technology as he made an unannounced visit Saturday — his first — to Ukraine's snow-blanketed war-time capital for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The air-defense package, which Britain valued at 50 million pounds ($60 million), comes as Russia has been pounding Ukraine's power grid and other key infrastructure from the air, causing widespread blackouts for millions of Ukrainians amid frigid weather.
The package includes radar and other technology to counter that Iran-supplied exploding drones that Russia has used against Ukrainian targets. It comes on top of a delivery of more than 1,000 anti-air missiles that Britain announced earlier this month.
The U.K. has been one of the staunchest Western backers of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Sunak noted that the U.K has given 2.3 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in military aid and pledged: “We will do the same again next year.”
“Your homes, your hospitals, your power stations are being destroyed," Sunak said in announcing the new air-defense package. “You and your people are paying a heavy price in blood.”
Speaking through a translator, Zelenskyy said Russian strikes have damaged around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
As snowflakes fell, Zelenskyy greeted Sunak at a presidential palace for their talks. He called the two countries “the strongest of allies.” Walking in the snow, they also inspected captured Russian tanks and other destroyed and rusting military hardware used by the invasion forces that are displayed in a Kyiv square.
“With friends like you by our side, we are confident in our victory. Both of our nations know what it means to stand up for freedom,” the Ukrainian leader said on Twitter.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stepped down in July amid ethics scandals, won wide praise in Ukraine for his backing and made repeated visits to Kyiv. Sunak is keen to reassure Ukraine’s leaders that there will be no change of stance under his leadership, although when he was U.K. Treasury chief under Johnson he was considered resistant to demands for higher defense spending.
“The courage of the Ukrainian people is an inspiration to the world,” Sunak said. “In years to come, we will tell our grandchildren of your story.”
He pledged that Britain "will stand with you until Ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves and then we will stand with you as you rebuild your great country.”
Sunak also laid flowers at a memorial for the war dead, lit a candle at a memorial for victims of a deadly Soviet-era famine in Ukraine in the 1930s, and met first responders at a fire station, his office said.
Sunak's visit came in the wake of a major recent battlefield success for Ukraine: the recapture of the southern city of Kherson.
The restoration of rail connections brought further joy Saturday to Kherson's residents, who excitedly waited for the first train from Kyiv.
“This is the beginning of a new life,” said 74-year-old Ludmila Olhouskaya, who didn’t have anyone to meet off the train but went to the station to show support. “Or rather, the revival of a former one.”
On the battlefield, Russian forces launched 10 airstrikes, 10 missile strikes and 42 rocket attacks on Ukraine in the last day, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Saturday.
Russia is pressing an offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, and Ukraine reported heavy fighting around the city of Bakhmut, the town of Avdiivka and the village of Novopavlivka.
Russian forces claimed to have repelled a Ukrainian counteroffensive to take back the settlements of Pershotravneve, Kyslivka and Krokhmalne in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv province.
Ukrainian forces said they killed or wounded scores of Russian soldiers during an attack on the village of Mykhailivka in the southern Kherson region, and the wounded were taken to hospitals in Crimea. The claim could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian forces also reported they conducted deadly strikes on the Kinburn Spit in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv province, a key site for Russian electronic warfare.
Russia kept up its strikes on critical infrastructure, with a rocket attack overnight causing a fire at a key industrial facility in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, according to the region's chief. Some parts of the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia were left without heat.
The head of Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm told the BBC that Ukrainians who can afford it should consider leaving the country to relieve pressure on its war-damaged power system.
“If they can find an alternative place to stay for another three or four months, it will be very helpful to the system,” said Maxim Timchenko, chief executive of DTEK. “If you consume less, then hospitals with injured soldiers will have a guaranteed power supply."
In Poland, a funeral was held Saturday for one of the two men who died when a missile landed there this week, according to the state news agency PAP. A military honor guard and Polish and Ukrainian representatives joined the man’s family and members of the community.
NATO member Poland and the head of the military alliance have both said that the missile strike in an eastern farming region appeared to be unintentional and was probably launched by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine. Russia had been bombarding Ukraine at the time.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense noted Saturday that Russia conducted its largest ever-debt issuance in a single day, raising $13.6 billion on Wednesday. It said debt issuance is a key mechanism to sustain defense spending, which has increased significantly in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February.
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Lawless reported from London. Elise Morton in London and Sam Mednick in Kherson, Ukraine, contributed to this story.
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Follow all AP stories about the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
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