Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer slams Putin’s ‘dithering’ as military chiefs set to meet in UK

Military chiefs meeting in UK: Plans for a Ukraine peacekeeping force are moving into an “operational phase,” with military leaders convening on Thursday to discuss security support.International commitment to Ukraine: Sir Keir held talks with Nato, EU leaders, and allies, reaffirming long-term support for Ukraine’s defence and deterrence against future Russian aggression.Ceasefire negotiations and pressure on Russia: Leaders welcomed the Jeddah peace agreement and Ukraine’s acceptance of a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire, urging Russia to agree and stop attacks. If Russia refuses, efforts will intensify to strengthen Ukraine and weaken Russia’s war capabilities.Sanctions and Russian assets: Discussions included tightening sanctions on Russia and exploring ways to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s recovery, though legal complexities remain.Coalition of the willing and military planning: A growing alliance is making new defence commitments, with discussions on how different countries will contribute military capabilities, potentially including UK troops and aircraft.Next steps: The UK will play a leading role in backing a peace deal, with military planning this week to ensure Ukraine’s security, prepare for potential deployment, and monitor any ceasefire violations.

The president of the European Council has said “Russia needs to show real political will to stop the war” following a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders.

Writing on X, Antonio Costa said: “Thank you, Keir Starmer, for organising today’s virtual meeting to assess progress and consider next steps after this week’s talks in Jeddah.

“Now Russia needs to show real political will to stop the war.

“We are committed to ensuring that Ukraine is in a position of strength in future peace negotiations.

“The EU actively contributes to strengthening Ukraine and enhancing its defence through political, financial, and military support, to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told Kyiv’s Western allies that they must “define a clear position on security guarantees”, including about basing a troop contingent on Ukrainian soil.

“The contingent must be stationed on Ukrainian soil,” Zelensky said in a post on X, alongside an image of him taking part in a virtual call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders and other Western allies.

“This is a security guarantee for Ukraine and a security guarantee for Europe,” he said.

Sir Keir Starmer has said Ukraine’s allies “must keep increasing pressure on Putin” to engage in ceasefire negotiations.

Writing on X, the prime minister said: “Today I spoke to world leaders on how we can drive forward action to support a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

“We must keep increasing the pressure on Putin to come to the table.

“And we must keep strengthening the support to our Ukrainian friends.”

Sir Ed Davey has urged the Prime Minister to seize frozen Russian assets to fund more support for Ukraine.

Responding to Saturday morning’s meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, the Liberal Democrat leader said: “Putin could end this war today if he wanted peace, but it’s clear he’s only interested in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty and turning it into a vassal state of Russia.

“The only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is to strengthen Ukraine. We must redouble our efforts to support their defence in the face of Putin’s barbarism. If Ukraine loses, all of Europe will be less secure.

“The PM must now commit to seizing the frozen Russian assets in the UK and forge an agreement to do the same across Europe, to help strengthen Ukraine’s hand and ensure we can achieve real peace.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said military chiefs will discuss what the “coalition of the willing” force could do on the ground.

He told a press conference on Saturday: “The operational meeting is where the discussions are taking place as to what the capabilities will be.

“I’ve indicated a willingness for the United Kingdom to play a leading role in this and indicated that, if it’s necessary, that will be troops on the ground and planes in the sky.

“There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide.

“But, obviously, we’ve got to get a deal first, so there’s the pressure that needs to be put on to Russia to get around the table, to get the deal, then there’s a question of a ceasefire for a possible short period, and then the lasting peace that we need to see.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said that “new commitments were put on the table” on Saturday.

He said: “The group that met this morning is a bigger group than we had two weeks ago, there is a stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table this morning, both in relation to the coalition of the willing in terms of defending the deal, also in relation to the wider point, which is the collective defence and security of Europe.

“So, more commitments on the table this morning and an agreement that we now move to the operational phase, which is why the talks on Thursday, the military talks, will become the next focal point.

“There was a wider agreement this morning, which was that the ‘yes, but’ from Russia is not good enough, and we agreed our collective pressure will be put on Russia from all of us who are in the meeting this morning.”

Frozen Russian assets were among the topics discussed by world leaders on a virtual call on Saturday.

Sir Keir Starmer said countries in the “coalition of the willing” want to tighten sanctions further and the leaders discussed “how much further we can go”.

“That is a complicated question, as I think everybody appreciates,” he told a press conference after the meeting.

“So, we discussed further sanctions that have got nothing to do with the assets, which we will take forward as a result of this morning’s discussion, but also a continuing discussion about what more can be done on the assets themselves.”

Sir Keir Starmer appears to have put his money where his mouth is when it comes to putting peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.

After weeks of promising a “coalition of the willing” to guarantee a ceasefire in Ukraine, the PM has finally provided some more detail on who will be involved, as well as announcing plans for a meeting of military leaders on Thursday.

But the PM has so far failed to provide details on the what the peacekeeping force will look like, what their remit is and whether the agreement has a basis in international law.

It’s likely that a lot of those questions will be tackled at Thursday’s operational meeting of militaries in the UK.

Meanwhile, the operation of the coalition relies on the achievement of a peace deal in the first place.

So while the PM appears to be following through on his promise, it’s clear he is still dealing entirely in hypotheticals.