LONDON (AP) \u2014 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help<\/a> to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war<\/a>.<\/p>\n The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding momentum to recent measures that have included a new round of sanctions<\/a> from the United States and European countries on Russia\u2019s vital oil and gas export earnings.<\/p>\n The talks also addressed ways of helping protect Ukraine\u2019s power grid from Russia\u2019s almost daily drone and missiles attacks<\/a> as winter approaches, enhancing Ukrainian air defenses, and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy has urged the U.S. to send Tomahawk missiles, an idea U.S. President Donald Trump has flirted with.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian leader said Trump\u2019s decision this week to impose oil sanctions was \u201ca big step,\u201d and said \u201cwe have to apply pressure not only to Rosneft and Lukoil, but to all Russian oil companies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBesides, we are carrying out our own campaign of pressure with drones and missiles specifically targeting the Russian oil sector,\u201d he said during a news conference at the Foreign Office in London.<\/p>\n Trump also has put on hold a plan for a swift meeting<\/a> with Putin in Budapest, because he didn\u2019t want it to be a \u201cwaste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n Putin has so far resisted efforts to push him into negotiating a peace settlement with Zelenskyy and has argued that the motives for Russia\u2019s all-out invasion of its smaller neighbor are legitimate. Russia has also been adept at finding loopholes<\/a> in Western sanctions.<\/p>\n A top Russian official said Friday he has arrived in the United States for talks with U.S. officials. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin\u2019s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, announced his visit in a post on X. He said it was \u201cplanned a while ago\u201d on an invitation \u201cfrom the U.S. side.\u201d<\/p>\n Dmitriev will meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, a White House official not authorized to publicly discuss the private meeting confirmed on condition of anonymity. The meeting was first reported by Axios.<\/p>\n Dmitriev has been a key interlocutor in discussions between the Trump administration and the Kremlin on numerous issues, including the Ukraine war and the release of American detainees in Russia.<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s unbudging stance<\/a> has exasperated Western leaders. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s rejected the opportunity for talks once again, instead making ludicrous demands for Ukrainian land, which he could not and has not taken by force,\u201d Starmer said at a news conference alongside Zelenskyy and several other European leaders. \u201cOf course, that is a complete non-starter.\u201d<\/p>\n NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Putin\u2019s goals remain unchanged but he \u201cis running out of money, troops and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof also attended Friday\u2019s meeting of the \u201cCoalition of the Willing\u201d in person. About 20 other leaders joined by video link.<\/p>\n Building a \u2018reassurance force\u2019<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Western allies need to resolve some big questions about the future part they will play as Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since World War II heads toward its fourth anniversary.<\/p>\n The uncertainties include how they can help fund<\/a> war-devastated Ukraine, what postwar security guarantees<\/a> they might be able to provide, and what Washington\u2019s commitments<\/a> to future security arrangements might be.<\/p>\n Details of the potential future \u201creassurance force\u201d are scant, and the London meeting seeks to further develop the idea \u2014 even though any peace agreement appears at the moment to be only a distant possibility.<\/p>\n The force is likely to consist of air and naval support rather than Western troops deployed in Ukraine, according to officials. U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey says it would be \u201ca force to help secure the skies, secure the seas, a force to help train Ukrainian forces to defend their nation.\u201d<\/p>\n