UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that Britain and France are working with Ukraine to develop a plan to end the ongoing war with Russia. This development comes as European leaders convene in London for crisis talks following a tense exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the summit, Starmer urged global unity in addressing the three-year conflict.
“We have had three years of bloody conflict, and now we must work towards lasting peace,” Starmer said. “The United Kingdom, alongside France and possibly other allies, will collaborate with Ukraine to formulate a ceasefire plan before presenting it to the United States.”
The summit, attended by European leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, NATO, and the European Union, aims to reinforce defense cooperation amid growing uncertainty over continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
Zelensky, who arrived in London on Saturday, met with Starmer and later secured a £2.26 billion ($2.84 billion) loan to bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities. The loan will be repaid using profits from immobilized Russian sovereign assets.
The Ukrainian leader’s visit follows a highly publicized confrontation with Trump in the Oval Office, where the U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of lacking gratitude and rejecting proposed ceasefire terms.
Despite the tensions, Zelensky reaffirmed Ukraine’s strategic partnership with the U.S. but maintained that any peace deal must not allow Russia to exploit a ceasefire to rearm and attack again.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized Trump’s stance, accusing him of “switching the roles of victim and aggressor.” Moscow, on the other hand, called Zelensky’s Washington trip a “complete failure,” with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that recent shifts in U.S. foreign policy align with Russia’s vision.
