Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he met British finance minister Jeremy Hunt in Kyiv and called for sanctions against Russia to be tightened to stop Moscow bypassing them.

The Ukrainian leader said in a statement on the Telegram app that he was grateful to close ally Britain for unveiling this week a new 500 million pound ($625 million) uplift in a defense support package for Ukraine.

"Particular attention was paid to sanctions policy. It is important to expand restrictive measures against Russia and exclude the possibility of circumventing sanctions," Zelenskyy said.

He said Hunt would meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other ministers later on Thursday. ($1 = 0.8006 pounds)