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By Staff Writer
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, amid a renewed Western effort to secure a peace deal with Russia.
After landing, the Ukrainian president said: “Today in the UK. Meetings and coordination talks with our European partners are planned. We are joining efforts to end this war with a just peace for Ukraine. Security must be guaranteed.”
Zelensky will also join a video call with EU leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte before travelling to Brussels for further talks with Rutte, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, is accompanying him.
The visit follows several days of US–Ukrainian negotiations in Miami. Zelensky said he took part in a “very substantive and constructive” call with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, adding that Ukraine was committed to working “honestly” with Washington to “bring about real peace”. He said both sides had agreed on “next steps and the format of talks with America”.
Donald Trump criticised Kyiv’s approach, telling reporters: “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal.” Witkoff and Kushner met Vladimir Putin last week, with Moscow rejecting elements of the reported US plan.
Zelensky told Bloomberg there was currently no agreement with Trump on territorial swaps and warned that control of Donetsk and Luhansk remained unresolved. “There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine and we don’t have a unified view on Donbas,” he said, describing parts of the American plan as “sensitive”. Officials on all sides privately concede that territory remains the “most problematic issue”.
Kyiv is seeking a separate package of security guarantees from Western allies. Zelensky said: “There is one question I and all Ukrainians want to get an answer to: if Russia again starts the war, what will our partners do?” He arrived at Downing Street for talks with Sir Keir, alongside Macron and Merz, to continue discussions.
Macron warned that Russia was on an “escalatory path”. He said: “We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” adding: “We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.”
Washington’s initial offer is understood to involve Ukraine ceding some territory in exchange for Western security guarantees, including the possible basing of jets in Poland, though without promising NATO membership.
Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, will be in Washington on Monday. The Foreign Office said: “The UK and US will reaffirm their commitment to reaching a peace deal in Ukraine.”