Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street on Friday. The meeting preceded broader talks where Starmer will urge allies to increase Ukraine's supply of long-range weapons to strike back at Russia.
The discussion focused on increasing pressure on Moscow and boosting Ukraine's defences. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch Premier Dick Schoof and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte arrived in London for the talks, while around 20 other leaders joined by video call.
Coalition pushes new measures
The "coalition of the willing" initiative, led by Starmer and France's Emmanuel Macron, is considering several measures. These include further efforts to cripple the Russian economy by removing Russian oil and gas from the global market, and exploring ways to use frozen assets to fund Ukraine's defences.
Starmer acknowledged that "huge steps forward" have been taken this week to support Kyiv. However, he emphasised there is "further we can do" on long-range capability for Ukrainian forces.
Continued Russian attacks
The Prime Minister addressed Putin's ongoing military actions during the meeting. He said: "Whilst you have signalled the path for a way forward and shown that willingness of courage and determination, what we see from Putin is an absolute unwillingness to engage, in fact, the opposite, which is the continued attacks increasingly on civilians and on children, and sadly I have to offer you my condolences again, as I did the last time we met and the time before, for those terrible losses."
Starmer highlighted progress on targeting Russian energy exports. "I do think that this week we can really bear down on Russian oil and gas. Huge steps forward this week already," he stated, adding that further work on long-range capability and security guarantees remains vital.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
