In the final days of Keir Starmer’s premiership, the Financial Times gave the outgoing PM a “mixed” review, focused largely on his domestic record and leadership of the Labour Party. Opinions may differ on his handling of issues like economic growth, but on one front there has been striking, nonpartisan agreement: his leadership on foreign policy, and on Ukraine in particular.

Starmer built on and sustained support for Ukraine in the UK that developed before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion. But arguably, under the PM’s leadership, the UK led the West and other liberal democracies in its voting record on Ukraine-related resolutions at the UN. He also cultivated a close, trusting relationship with President Volodymyr Zelensky — a bond recognized when Zelensky awarded him Ukraine’s Order of Freedom during Starmer’s final visit to Kyiv as Prime Minister.

It is hard to overstate what that support has meant for Britain, for Europe, and for the West as a whole. In just over four years since the full-scale invasion — and across the two years of Starmer’s premiership — Ukraine has transformed from the underdog in a David-and-Goliath fight into arguably the leading military force in Europe, defending not only itself but the continent around it.

Thank you, Prime Minister Starmer.