This blog is now closing. In the meantime you can read our full report on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the UK here, all our Ukraine coverage here, and a rundown of key developments below:
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sought to move the conversation forward from his difficult meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, on Friday saying it was “best left to history”, as he signalled Ukraine’s readiness to sign the minerals deal and hoped for “constructive” talks with the US administration on the next steps.
Speaking to reporters after frantic 72 hours, Zelenskyy drew his red lines by saying he would not accept giving any occupied territory away to Russia and insisted on remembering that Russia was the aggressor in the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader said the country needed strong security guarantees or otherwise would face the risk of Russia seeking to restart hostilities with false claims about Ukrainian violations, as it did in the past.
Zelenskyy said he hoped that a UK-French initiative for peace would bear fruit “in coming weeks”, with a number of other countries declaring their interest in being involved in providing security guarantees for Ukraine.
His comments come after French president, Emmanuel Macron, floated the idea of a one-month limited ceasefire that would apply to air, sea and attacks on critical energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy didn’t offer any suggestion if he would accept the proposal, but said he was “aware of everything”.
British prime minister, Keir Starmer, earlier announced details of a new £1.6bn UK export finance contract for Ukraine allowing it “to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles” to help the country’s defence against Russia, as he concluded a London summit with European, Turkish and Canadian leaders.
Starmer also confirmed plans to form “a coalition of the willing” to enforce a potential peace deal in Ukraine, which he said the UK was prepared “to back with boots on the ground and planes in the air”.
Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, said a number of Nato countries signalled their plans to increase defence spending, as he urged media to “stop gossiping about what the US might or might not do”, and insisted the country remained committed to Nato.
Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said he hoped the EU’s plans to be unveiled next week would “send a very clear impulse showing Putin and Russia that no one here, in the west, intends to surrender to his blackmail and aggression”.
Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, offered a passionate defence of Zelenskyy, saying that in his comments in the Oval Office on Friday “he pointed out in so many words that Vladimir Putin is a liar and a criminal and cannot be trusted to keep his word in any way”.
After the summit, Zelenskyy also met with King Charles at his estate in Sandringham, where the pair had tea together for nearly an hour. The visit has been seen in Westminster as an attempt to even out treatment of the Ukrainian and US presidents after Starmer invited Donald Trump for a state visit last week.
'We understand the importance of America,' Zelenskyy says
Kyiv understands “the importance of America” and “there hasn’t been a single day when we haven’t felt grateful” to the US, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in his nightly video address to the nation. He said:
Of course, we understand the importance of America, and we are grateful for all the support we have received from the United States. There hasn’t been a single day when we haven’t felt grateful. Because this is gratitude for the preservation of our independence: our resilience in Ukraine is built upon what our partners do for us and for their own security.
The Ukrainian president also said there would be “diplomacy for peace. And for the sake of all of us standing together – Ukraine, the whole of Europe, and necessarily America.”
There was “clear support” from Europe for Ukraine, he said “even greater unity, even stronger readiness for cooperation” adding that “everyone is united on the main point – for peace to be real, real security guarantees are needed.”
He said Europe would shape its common positions in the near future, “the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on”, and that these would be presented to “our partners in the United States”.
