New Zealand Defence Minister visits Kyiv after nation's pledge to train Ukraine soldiers

The western bloc is showcasing its support to Ukraine in one way or the other. Following the United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s surprise visit to Ukraine, New Zealand’s Defence Minister Peeni Henare paid his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, November 20. Henare met his Ukrainian counterpart, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov to reaffirm Wellington’s support for Ukraine. 

The Ukraine Defence Minister expressed gratitude to his New Zealand counterpart. He took to Twitter and wrote, “Kia ora! I was glad to welcome my colleague @PeeniHenare in Kyiv. We discussed our joint projects, ways to strengthen defence capabilities&coordinated efforts to rebuild after the war. Thank you for your willingness to promote Ukraine's interests in Southeast Asia.” The tweet was later retweeted by Henare.

The Kyiv Independent reported that earlier this week, the New Zealand administration pledged to send “66 defence personnel to the UK, to help train the Ukrainian soldiers.” This comes after Ukraine's recent victory in recapturing the regional capital Kherson, which the Russian troop captured earlier. Henare’s visit to Kyiv comes after Sunak paid a surprise visit to the region where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pledged 50 million euros in aid. 

Henare also visited Poland after the Missile strike 

After engaging with the Ukrainian Defence minister, New Zealand’s Henare paid a visit to Poland and met the Polish Defence minister expressing his condolences for the death of two Polish citizens in a missile strike in easter Poland on November 15. Sharing the pictures from the event, the Polish Ministry of Defence tweeted, “The situation of international security, the war in Ukraine and its consequences for security in the region, as well as support and assistance - these, were the main topics of the meeting between Deputy Prime Minister @mblaszczak and @PeeniHenare, New Zealand's defence Minister.”

New Zealand's Defence Minister reciprocated the Polish gesture and took to social media to express his condolences to the departed souls. Henare wrote, “It was a pleasure to meet with my counterpart from Poland. We expressed our condolences for the recent loss experienced in the missile incident recently. We thank them for their leadership on the conflict in Ukraine.”

Image: Twitter/@oleksiireznikov