The British prime minister is heading to the United States for a NATO summit on his first international trip in office

British Prime Minister Starmer will embark on his first international trip in office, attending a NATO summit in the United States aimed at underlining Britain's commitment to Ukraine.

Starmer will attend a two-day NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday and is expected to hold bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Western leaders.

It will be Starmer's first meeting with the US leader as Britain's new prime minister, and Biden, who has been busy campaigning recently, is facing questions about his age and health, so the meeting is likely to be carefully choreosed. The White House said the two sides "will interact at some point," but did not provide further details.

Starmer became prime minister last Friday, leading the Labour Party for a five-year term. On his first day in office, Starmer made clear in a video message to Zelensky that a change to a Labour government would make no difference to British support for Ukraine.

During an unscheduled visit to the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa over the weekend, Labor Defense Secretary John Healey announced a new military aid package that includes large-caliber ammunition, AS90 self-propelled guns and sulfone anti-tank missiles.

Labour's repeated commitment to a more traditional concept of national security during the campaign is in stark contrast to the Corbyn era. Starmer said he would be prepared to use Britain's Trident nuclear weapons if necessary.

Labour has also played up its historical ties to NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "In fact, as early as 1949, the Labour government in London promoted the establishment of NATO. So I also welcome Starmer's strong commitment to continue on this path."

However, Labour has fallen short of the Conservatives' target of raising defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030. Analysts believe that Starmer will not rush into action, but will first consider the country's entire fiscal situation.

Mr Starmer will also face a challenge on the arms front, as Britain is unable to supply some of the weapons Ukraine needs, such as air defence systems and F-16s.