President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting the French, German and British leaders in London on Monday as Kyiv’s European allies try to strengthen Ukraine’s hand in thorny talks on a US-backed plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to gather with Zelenskyy, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader’s 10 Downing St. Residence.
Zelenskyy said late Sunday that his talks with European leaders this week in London and Brussels will focus on security, air defence and long-term funding for Ukraine’s war effort. The leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees, both from Europe and the US, to deter Russia from attacking again.
US and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the US administration’s peace proposal. Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that talks had been “substantive” and that National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov were travelling back to Europe to brief him.
A major sticking point in the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine must cede control of its eastern Donbas region to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have baulked at the idea of handing over land. Starmer said he “won’t be putting pressure” on Zelenskyy to accept a peace settlement.
“The most important thing is to ensure that if there is a cessation of hostilities, and I hope there is, it has to be just and it has to be lasting, which is what we will be focused on this afternoon,” he told broadcaster ITV. In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, US President Donald Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”
“Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it,” Trump said before taking part in the Kennedy Centre Honours in Washington. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) and French President Emmanuel Macron (right) meeting at 10 Downing Street in London.
