Zelensky hopes Truss will help Ukraine ‘thwart’ Russia

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he hoped Britain’s new Conservative leader Liz Truss would help Kyiv “thwart” Russia.

“I believe that together we will be able to do more to protect our peoples and to thwart all Russian destructive efforts,” Zelensky said in his daily address. London was one of Ukraine’s most committed backers under Truss’ predecessor Boris Johnson.

Liz Truss was named as Britain’s next prime minister on Monday, winning a leadership race for the governing Conservative party at a time when the country faces a cost of living crisis, industrial unrest and a recession.

After weeks of an often bad-tempered and divisive leadership contest that saw the foreign minister face off against former finance minister Rishi Sunak, Truss came out on top in a vote of Conservative Party members.

The announcement triggers the start of a handover from Boris Johnson, who was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of scandal saw support for his administration drain away.

He will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday to officially tender his resignation. Truss will follow him and be asked to form a government by the monarch.