Speaking at a press conference in London alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, the PM said an attack by six men on a warehouse containing humanitarian aid for Ukraine shows ‘your security is our security’
Keir Starmer has said a Russian-sponsored attack on a warehouse in London shows the dangers Britons face from Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The PM said he would be stepping up efforts to stop fellow world leaders purchasing “tainted resources” from Russia. Mr Starmer, standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told a press conference: “Just a few moments ago, here in the United Kingdom, we saw the sentencing of six men for Russian sponsored arson attack on a warehouse in East London.
“This was a warehouse storing humanitarian aid and satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. We will not tolerate this hostile activity, and it just underlines the point – your security is our security.
“What happens on the frontline of Donetsk today is shaping our collective future for years to come.” He accused Vladimir Putin of stalling and playing for time, saying: “Putin is the only person who does not want to stop this war. His strikes on civilians this week made that crystal clear once again, targeting energy infrastructure ahead of winter.”
He said a 12-year-old girl and a six month old baby were among those killed in Putin’s strike. “This is who Putin is,” Mr Starmer stated. “Time after time he rejects the chance to end the war.”
On Friday Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said that the arson – organizsed on behalf of the Wagner paramilitary group – was part of a planned campaign of terrorism and sabotage in the interests of the Russian state. It was likely linked, she said, to another arson attack against a warehouse in Spain.
Dylan Earl – the British man who arranged the arson – was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The arson in East London caused £1million to a warehouse owned by a Ukrainian couple who shipped Starlink satellite communication devices to Ukraine. The devices are often used by the Ukrainian military.
Earlier Mr Zelensky urged allies not to give Russia any reason “to think they can finish this war with any outcome that is unfair to us”. He 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,” Mr Zelensky said.
Mr Starmer said Putin’s “ludicrous demands” to take Ukrainian land were “a non-starter”. He insisted the “coalition of the willing” and the US were “more united than ever before”.
At a virtual meeting of the group, the 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.” The Prime Minister was joined in person by Mr Zelensky, Danish premier Mette Frederiksen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte as he co-hosted the call from the Foreign Office on Friday.