Starmer says plans for military support for Ukraine now entering ‘operational phase’

Sir Keir Starmer has declared that plans to enactment a peacekeeping unit successful Ukraine person present entered an “operational phase”, arsenic Britain prepares to big subject chiefs from a radical of Western countries acceptable to enactment a ceasefire.

Sending the strongest awesome yet that the “coalition of the willing” is pressing up with the pledge to backmost a ceasefire woody with troops connected the ground, the PM said allies would beryllium prepared to “help unafraid Ukraine connected the land, astatine oversea and successful the sky”.

“We won’t beryllium backmost and hold for Putin to act,” the premier curate warned, vowing to “keep pushing forward” with the program for peace.

Speaking from Downing Street, Sir Keir said subject chiefs from crossed the satellite volition conscionable connected Thursday and enactment successful spot “strong and robust plans... to plaything successful down a bid woody and warrant Ukraine’s aboriginal security”.

The PM besides piled unit connected Vladimir Putin to judge bid proposals and attempted to gully a wide dividing enactment betwixt Donald Trump and the Kremlin dictator, informing that Russia was trying to hold Mr Trump’s program for bid successful the region.

Despite the US president saying helium held “good and productive” talks with Russia connected Friday, Putin has been accused of utilizing delaying tactics to stall the negotiations.

“Sooner oregon later, Putin volition person to travel to the table,” Sir Keir warned. “This is the moment, fto the guns autumn silent, fto the barbaric attacks connected Ukraine, erstwhile and for all, stop, and hold to a ceasefire now.”

In the hours aft Sir Keir’s Downing Street property conference, Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia was readying a caller crushed battle into eastbound Ukraine and accused Putin of “lying to everyone astir the situation”.

Posting connected Twitter/X, helium warned that a “ceasefire could person already happened, but Russia is doing everything to forestall it.

“I would similar each partners to recognize precisely what Putin is planning, what helium is preparing for, and what helium volition beryllium ignoring”, helium said.

Sir Keir besides said caller commitments had been made connected tightening sanctions connected Russia, informing that “Russia’s appetite for struggle and chaos undermines our information backmost present astatine home”.

His code came aft a virtual gathering with 29 different satellite leaders, including Mr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron.

His code came aft a virtual gathering with 26 different satellite leaders, including Mr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron. Mark Rutte, the Nato caput general, and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, were besides among the leaders to instrumentality portion successful the call.

“The radical that met this greeting is simply a bigger radical than we had 2 weeks ago, determination is simply a stronger corporate resoluteness and caller commitments were enactment connected the array this morning, some successful narration to the conjugation of the consenting successful presumption of defending the deal, besides successful narration to the wider point, which is the corporate defence and information of Europe,” said Sir Keir.

“So, much commitments connected the array this greeting and an statement that we present determination to the operational phase, which is wherefore the talks connected Thursday, the subject talks, volition go the adjacent focal point.”

Questions remain, however, implicit which countries person made factual commitments to a peacekeeping force, however ample the unit volition beryllium and whether oregon not it volition person a wide ground successful planetary law.

Asked astir what enactment a peacekeeping unit could take, Sir Keir said this would beryllium a taxable of treatment betwixt subject chiefs connected Thursday.

He said: “There are antithetic capabilities from antithetic countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going connected successful narration to what this conjugation of the consenting volition beryllium capable to provide.”

Among the different participants astatine Saturday’s gathering were Italian premier curate Giorgia Meloni, who had been reportedly considering not joining the telephone owed to scepticism astir Anglo-French peacekeeping proposals.

As good arsenic European nations, the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand joined the call, arsenic did Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.

Saturday’s gathering followed an aggravated week of diplomacy successful which American officials enactment a US-Ukraine connection for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to Russia.

But the Kremlin has truthful acold resisted the proposal, saying it would lone hold to a ceasefire if Ukraine besides agreed to wantonness its purpose of joining Nato and gave up immoderate of its territory to Russia.

Speaking from the furniture country successful No 10 connected Saturday, Sir Keir told satellite leaders they could not “sit backmost and wait” for a ceasefire successful Ukraine, adding: “We person to support pushing ahead, pushing guardant and preparing for peace, and a bid that volition beryllium unafraid and that volition last.”

Earlier connected Saturday, Putin’s archetypal premier curate Mikhail Kasyanov, who present opposes the Russian president, said his erstwhile brag would not judge Nato oregon European troops being deployed to Ukraine but mightiness hold to soldiers from “friendly countries” specified arsenic India and Brazil.

Following the meeting, Liberal Democrat person Sir Ed Davey urged the premier curate to prehend Russian assets and usage them to money much enactment for Ukraine, saying this was “the lone mode to execute a conscionable and lasting peace”.

Asked astir whether helium had discussed seizing Russian assets with his counterparts, Sir Keir said it had been discussed, but added it was “a analyzable question”.

Meanwhile, some Russia and Ukraine launched drone attacks overnight, each reporting much than 100 force drones entering their respective airspace.

No casualties person been reported and some countries’ defence ministries claimed to person changeable down astir 130 force drones.