Keir Starmer said Ukraine allies would ‘go further than ever’ to pile pressure on Russia by turning the screws on its economy and bolstering Kyiv’s arsenal with long-range missiles
Keir Starmer has said allies must drag Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table as the Kremlin tyrant is not serious about peace.
The Prime Minister said the Coalition of the Willing countries who back Ukraine would “go further than ever” to pile pressure on Russia by turning the screws on its economy and bolstering Kyiv’s arsenal with long-range missiles.
After talks in London with more than 20 allies, Mr Starmer sought to seize momentum following US and EU sanctions on Russia.
The PM set out a plan for the rest of the year, including action to choke off funding for Putin’s war machine by targeting Russian oil and gas.
He said urgent action was needed to unlock frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defences, saying: “The bill for Russia’s destruction in Ukraine should be paid by Russia.”
READ MORE: Keir Starmer breaks silence on Russian-backed warehouse attack in London
Ukraine’s supporters must also bolster its air defences and keep up pressure by giving Kyiv long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia, the PM said.
Standing beside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Starmer said: “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, hitting young children in their nursery, claiming the lives in Kyiv of a 12-year-old girl and a six-month old baby. This is who Putin is.”
Mr Starmer branded his recent demands for Ukrainian land a “non-starter” and demonstrated that “he’s not serious about peace”.
President Zelensky said Russia was conducting a “campaign of terror” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and would use the bitter winter as a “tool of torment”.
“They want to break us and they are doing everything to achieve that,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader renewed his appeal for long-range missiles after Donald Trump rejected demands for lethal US-made Tomahawks.
“There must be no option left for Russia except to end the war and return peace to our country,” he said.
He welcomed the US decision to go after two major Russian oil companies but urged Mr Trump to expand the sanctions further.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Putin was “running out of money, troops and ideas” and Russian troops were dying in their hundreds of thousands for marginal gains.
But he said decisions on Tomahawk missiles were for the US.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said a decision on plans to let Ukraine use funds from frozen Russian assets should come before Christmas Eve.
Dick Schoof, the Dutch PM, also said more needs to be done in tackling the shadow fleet, which bankrolls the war by exporting Russian oil under the radar to avoid Western bans.