‘Ukraine’s future is our future’, says Starmer, as he vows to take Russian oil and gas off market to choke Kremlin funding
Starmer says the coalition will act to take Russia’s oil and gas “off the global market” and says it will “choke off funding for Russia’s war”.
He says he is determined to push on with releasing funds from Russia’s frozen assets and highlights the need to move at speed for reparations.
He says “we are strengthening Ukraine’s air defence” and that the UK will provide Ukraine with additional missiles to bolster defences during the winter.
The coalition will keep up military pressure on Putin, he says, and that work will continue on multinational security for when peace comes.
“Ukraine’s future is our future,” says Starmer. “We are determined to act now to dial up the pressure on Putin and finally bring him to the negotiating table in good faith.”
Key events
Further to our earlier report, Russia’s top economic negotiator said he has arrived in the United States for talks, two days after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two biggest oil companies.
The visit comes with increasing US frustration at Russian president Vladimir Putin and his refusal to agree to a ceasefire in the nearly four-year Ukraine war, reports AFP.
Earlier this week, US president Donald Trump scrapped planned talks with Putin in Budapest, saying he did not want a “wasted” meeting.
“Arrived in the US to continue the US-Russia dialogue – visit planned a while ago based on an invitation from the US side,” Putin’s top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on X.
The envoy told Russian news agencies that he would convey Russia’s position on the Ukraine war in meetings with Trump administration officials.
Ukraine will have to find a way to produce air defence systems domestically, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the press conference. Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Kyiv has ramped up weapons production, with nearly 60% of weapons now domestically produced, but it still depends on Western supplies for air defence systems and missiles.
Earlier this week, Ukraine used a British Storm Shadow missile to bomb a Russian plant in Bryansk that produced explosives and rocket fuel. But the US has so far declined to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles. Mark Rutte earlier suggested the decision on long-range missiles remains “under review” by the US president.
Danish PM Frederiksen calls for decision on reparation loans for Ukraine by Christmas
The Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said that allies in the “coalition of the willing” must reach a solution on reparation loans for Ukraine before Christmas.
“We have to work in a way that we have a solution before Christmas eve so we are able to ensure that we can finance Ukraine for the next years,” Frederiksen said.
“I am sure that we will be able to do that … and I will wait to have a decision before Christmas eve.
Mark Rutte says it is a decision for the individual allies of Ukraine to decide which weapons it wants to supply, when asked if he believes the US will provide long-range Tomahawk missiles.
He says that, since July, crucial weaponry has been provided by the US to Ukraine.
“The issue remains under review by the president and, of course, that is up to the US to decide,” he concludes.
Putin wants to “divide us”, says Zelenskyy, while praising the recent sanctions announced by the United States.
He says the decision on Russian frozen assets is “crucial for us” and says there is political consensus on it but that he is hopeful a “practical decision” will follow.
Frederiksen says she supports it totally and says she is sure the technical decisions can be resolved by Christmas Eve.
The coalition of the willing and the European Union (EU) are “all working with president Trump”, Starmer says when asked about whether Ukraine can be protected without US support.
He says the combined impact of sanctions from the US have had the most significant impact this week. He adds that progress has been made on frozen Russian assets and that action is needed “on a short timetable”.
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen says European finances will boost Ukraine’s war effort and says “significant steps” have been taken this week to target Russia’s energy sector.
She says she thinks Putin’s strategy has been to wait for Ukraine’s allies to give up and says “we are willing to continue”.
Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof says Russia is the “only party rejecting a ceasefire” and says only increased pressure on Russia will force Putin to discuss peace in Ukraine.
He says “we must step up our energy assistance to help Ukraine and Ukrainians through the winter,” adding that he is concerned about the impact Russia is having on Ukraine’s energy sector.
Nato chief Mark Rutte says he had a very good meeting with Trump in Washington two days ago and says the sanctions on Russia will increase pressure on Putin and force him to the table.
“In Ukraine, Putin is gaining little ground on the battlefield,” he says. Marginal gains are coming at great loss, he says.
Russia is running out of money, troops and ideas, he says, adding that he welcomes announcements of additional military aid for Ukraine.
“On both sides of the Atlantic, we want this war to end,” he says. “We are moving in the right direction.”
Zelenskyy says there must be no option for Russia but to end war
Zelenskyy is now speaking and says Russia is carrying out a campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy system, aiming to make “winter cold” for civilians to pressure Ukraine.
He says diplomacy matters only when it leads to real decisions. He says sanctions, long-range weapons, accountability for war crimes and real actions on frozen Russian assets are the priority.
Zelenskyy thanks Trump for applying pressure to Russia’s energy sector. “We have to implement all we have discussed today,” he says.
The long-range capability strengthens diplomatic efforts, he says, because Putin needs to suffer losses on his own territory to force him to negotiate.
“There must be no option for Russia but to end to war and return peace to our country,” he says.
‘Ukraine’s future is our future’, says Starmer, as he vows to take Russian oil and gas off market to choke Kremlin funding
Starmer says the coalition will act to take Russia’s oil and gas “off the global market” and says it will “choke off funding for Russia’s war”.
He says he is determined to push on with releasing funds from Russia’s frozen assets and highlights the need to move at speed for reparations.
He says “we are strengthening Ukraine’s air defence” and that the UK will provide Ukraine with additional missiles to bolster defences during the winter.
The coalition will keep up military pressure on Putin, he says, and that work will continue on multinational security for when peace comes.
“Ukraine’s future is our future,” says Starmer. “We are determined to act now to dial up the pressure on Putin and finally bring him to the negotiating table in good faith.”
Starmer says Putin is ‘only person’ who does not want to end war in Ukraine
The leaders have walked out on stage and the press conference begins with UK prime minister Keir Starmer paying tribute to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He says what happens on the frontline of the battlefield in Ukraine today “is shaping our collective future for years to come”.
He says the ‘coalition of the willing’ stands with US president Donald Trump in calling for the fighting to stop.
Starmer says Russian president Vladimir Putin is the “only person who does not want to end this war” and says the strikes that killed children this week demonstrate that.
Starmer adds that Putin’s demands for Ukrainian land is “ludicrous” and calls it a “complete non-starter”.
Zelenskyy and Starmer set to give joint press conference in London
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is about to give a joint press conference in London alongside the British prime minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders.
Nato chief Mark Rutte, Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof and Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen were expected to join Starmer and Zelenskyy at 5pm GMT.
Follow along for any key news lines here.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies not to “give Russia any reason to think they can finish this war with any outcome that is unfair to us”.
Speaking from London, the Ukrainian president thanked countries for their support but told a call of the “coalition of the willing”: “We must all remember that the issues of territorial integrity as well as any alleged trade of lands must not reward the aggressor or reward any future aggression.”
He said it was important not to “give Russia any reason to think they can finish this war with any outcome that is unfair to us”.
“Only a strong and fair solution to end the war will really work. Please support us in this,” Zelenskyy said.
Starmer says Putin’s ‘ludicrous demands’ to take Ukrainian land are a ‘non-starter’
Keir Starmer said Vladimir Putin’s “ludicrous demands” to take Ukrainian land were “a non-starter” as he insisted the “coalition of the willing” and the US were “more united than ever before”.
At the top of a virtual meeting of the group, the UK prime minister said:
I’m really pleased to say that we’ve got a group now of more than 30 nations who have been unwavering in our support for Ukraine and a just and lasting peace.
I would say that today we are more united in that than ever before.
United as a group of countries in the coalition of the willing, united with president Trump in our calls to end the bloodshed.
He added:
Putin continues to meet initiatives for peace by stonewalling and playing for time … instead he’s making ludicrous demands for Ukrainian land which he could not take by force.
Now, of course, that is a non-starter.
British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that European leaders of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ needed to agree to finish the job on using frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s defences.
“We need to agree to finish the job on Russia’s sovereign assets and unlock billions to help finance Ukraine’s defence,” Starmer told the European leaders at the meeting in London.
“The UK is ready to move in tandem with the EU to drive this forward as fast as possible.”
Ringleader who organised arson attacks on Ukraine-linked London business properties jailed for 17 years
The ringleader of an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London last year was on Friday jailed for 17 years for what prosecutors described as “a sustained campaign of terrorism and sabotage on UK soil”.
Dylan Earl, 21, admitted aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze which targeted companies delivering satellite equipment from Elon Musk’s Starlink to Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Prosecutors said on Thursday that he also discussed with his handler – who was linked to Russia’s Wagner mercenary group – plans to kidnap the co-founder of finance app Revolut and torch a warehouse in the Czech Republic.
Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb sentenced Earl to 17 years in prison.
Spain’s High Court is investigating privately-owned steelmaker Sidenor for allegedly selling steel to an Israeli firm for the purpose of making weapons, it said on Friday, in one of the first potential legal consequences of Spain’s ban on such deals.
Judge Francisco de Jorge is leading the investigation targeting Sidenor’s CEO Jose Antonio Jainaga Gomez and two other executives for alleged smuggling and complicity in crimes against humanity or genocide, according to the statement.
They were summoned to testify on 12 November.
The court said Sidenor sold steel to Israel Military Industries, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, in a deal allegedly conducted without government authorisation or proper registry.
Trump: ‘I am the only one that matters’
Simon Jeffery
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that his government was working on “ways to circumvent” US sanctions against Russian energy companies.
President Donald Trump at the Gaza summit on Friday has said that he liked Orbán and: “I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I am the only one that matters.”
