Starmer slashes aid to fund major increase in defence spending

Announcement prompts concerns that PM is pandering to US president and warnings over consequences of aid cuts

Keir Starmer has announced that Britain will “fight for peace in Europe” with a generational increase in defence spending paid for by slashing the foreign aid budget.

The move, just two days before the prime minister is due to meet Donald Trump, raised immediate concerns that he was pandering to the US president, and fury from aid groups that say it could cost lives in countries that rely on UK support.

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Trump says Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine

France’s Macron corrects US president’s claim that Europe has only loaned funds to Kyiv at White House meeting

Donald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war.

The US president was speaking alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House on Monday as the leaders sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift to achieve peace.

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Trump has changed Ukraine debate ‘for the better’, says Downing Street

Starmer’s spokesperson says US intervention ‘could bring lasting peace’ as No 10 treads carefully before White House visit

Donald Trump has changed the global conversation around Ukraine “for the better”, Downing Street has said, as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Vladimir Putin to make concessions.

As world leaders marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the US president had opened the door to talks that could bring lasting peace.

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Forest fires push up greenhouse gas emissions from war in Ukraine

Emissions estimated at 55m tonnes in 2024 and nearly 230m tonnes in three years of war

The burning of Ukraine’s forests at unprecedented rates over the past year has helped push the total greenhouse emissions from the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion to almost 230m tonnes, analysis shows.

The study, published on the third anniversary of the invasion, found the fighting and its consequences had led to 55m tonnes of emissions in the past 12 months.

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Starmer announces ‘UK’s largest packet of sanctions’ against Russia since early days of war with Ukraine – UK politics live

​PM says Trump has ‘changed global conversation on Ukraine’ as he pledges more military aid and sanctions

Keir Starmer called for support for Ukraine to be boosed in three ways in his virtual speech to the conference in Kyiv.

First, military support should increase, he said.

The UK is doing that, providing £4.5bn pounds in military aid this year, more than ever before. We’re doing more than ever to train Ukrainian troops helping Ukraine to mobilise even further. And we are proud to have taken on the leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

So today, we’re announcing the UK’s largest packet of sanctions since the early days of the war, going after Russia’s shadow fleet and going after companies in China and elsewhere who are sending military component.

Later day, I will be discussing further steps with the G7. But I am clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk, including the oil price cap, sanctioning Russia’s oil giants and going off the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions.

President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity.

Now we must get the fundamentals right if we want peace to endure. Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.

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Zelenskyy says he would ‘quit for peace’ as he refuses US demand for Ukraine minerals

Ukrainian president says US military aid was a ‘grant’ rather than a debt but adds that he wants Trump to be ‘on our side’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not willing to cave in to intense US pressure to sign a $500bn minerals deal and that he wants Donald Trump to be “on our side” in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv ahead of the third anniversary on Monday of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy said he did not recognise the sum demanded by the White House as apparent “payback” for previous US military assistance.

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‘People are so polite’: the Ukrainian refugee bonding with the British over borscht and chips

First Ukrainian refugee to arrive in UK after Russia invasion says even the British dogs are better behaved, but that ‘the weather is sad’

Sharing a bowl of homemade Ukrainian borscht with your neighbours is one way to make friends in a new country, according to the first refugee to arrive in the UK after Russia invaded her country three years ago.

Ukrainian refugee Valentyna Klymova, 72, now settled in Erith in Kent, has done just that, lovingly preparing the traditional soup containing beetroot, other vegetables and meat stock, served with a dollop of sour cream and rye bread. She offers it to English people she knows and says it has had a positive reception. In turn, she has embraced quintessentially British fish and chips, although she has not yet tried to cook it at home.

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Ukraine war live: Russia launches largest drone attack on eve of third anniversary of invasion

Drones intercepted in at least 13 regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities

Volodymyr Zelenskyy added in his post on X earlier today that a “lasting and just peace” in Ukraine can only be achieved through the unity of all its allies, namely Europe and the US.

It comes after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia this week, without Ukraine’s involvement, raising concerns in Kyiv and the EU that any deal to end the war will be favourable to Moscow.

Every day, our people stand against aerial terror. On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine — the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages. In total, nearly 1,150 attack drones, more than 1,400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles of various types were launched this week.

I thank everyone who repels such attacks on a daily basis—our aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the air force and defence forces. I also thank those on the ground who save lives and respond to the aftermath of shelling—the state emergency service, medics, and the national police. The war continues. Everyone capable of helping with air defense must work to enhance the protection of human life.

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Starmer unlikely to unveil plan for rise in defence spending this week, says minister

Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in Washington

Keir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously claiming it would set out a path to meeting the spending goal after the strategic defence review in the spring.

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New York City’s Ukrainian community ‘disappointed’ after Trump’s ‘betrayal’

As the US upends decades of foreign policy, those watching the war unfold from miles away resolve to stand strong

Members of New York’s large Ukrainian community expressed a mix of disillusionment, betrayal, defiance and acute uncertainty about what the future holds for Ukraine after tensions escalated this week between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Geopolitical events in the last week have shocked Ukrainians at home and overseas as well as US lawmakers and allies, as the US president appeared to heavily favor the Russian president Vladimir Putin to dictate peace terms on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Redrawing of global energy markets map set to heap benefits on US

The prospects of peace and the return of Russian gas looks likely to serve the interests of Donald Trump

The Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago has reverberated through the global energy industry; unravelling Europe’s decades-long reliance on gas imported via pipelines from Russia, and triggering a global squeeze on gas markets that unleashed a cost of living crisis still felt today.

The prospect of a peace deal has many wondering whether the energy industry could be upended once again; this time giving way to a market serving the interests of the US president hoping to broker the deal.

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‘Starmer’s big moment’: can PM persuade Trump not to give in to Putin?

The UK leader has been advised to choose his words carefully at this week’s crucial White House meeting

Keir Starmer lays down Ukraine peace demand ahead of Trump talks

When Keir Starmer is advised on how to handle his crucial meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, he will be told by advisers from Downing Street and the Foreign Office to be very clear on his main points and, above all, to be brief.

“Trump gets bored very easily,” said one well-placed Whitehall source with knowledge of the president’s attention span. “When he loses interest and thinks someone is being boring, he just tunes out. He doesn’t like [the French president, Emmanuel] Macron partly because Macron talks too much and tries to lecture him.”

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US politics live: Donald Trump addresses Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland

US president’s 75-minute tirade of repeated false claims ranges from voter fraud and stolen-election lies to foreign wars

Donald Trump launched into his speech by assailing “the fraudsters, liars … globalists and deep-state bureaucrats” that he said “are being sent back”.

“We’re draining the swamp and restoring government by the people for the people,” he said before going on to his oft-repeated claims of Washington DC being controlled by a “sinister group of radical-left Marxist warmongers”.

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Russia and US could meet again within weeks to discuss Ukraine, Moscow says – Europe live

Moscow and Washington held their first talks on ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine on Tuesday

Some 62% of Britons believe Ukraine should be allowed into Nato, according to new polling.

The research by YouGov also suggested 68% think the UK should maintain its commitment to defend allies in the military bloc, but when asked specifically about defending the US this figure fell to 42%.

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US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’

Keith Kellogg takes different tone from Trump, who contrasted ‘very good talks’ with Putin with cooler relationship with Ukraine’s leader

The US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war”, striking a dramatically different tone from Donald Trump, who has called Ukraine’s president a “dictator”.

Kellogg left Kyiv on Friday after a three-day visit. Posting on social media, he said he had engaged in “extensive and positive discussions” with Zelenskyy and his “talented national security team”. “A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” he said.

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Starmer will not challenge Trump on his attack on Zelenskyy when the pair meet

UK prime minister aiming to cool escalating transatlantic row over war in Ukraine

Keir Starmer will not risk riling Donald Trump by challenging him over his attack on Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the pair finally meet next week, as the prime minister seeks to cool an escalating transatlantic row.

Starmer will fly to the US in the coming days for what could be a defining moment for his leadership, as Europe and the US trade accusations and insults about the origins of the war in Ukraine and the best way to end it.

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Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv

National security adviser says Ukraine is wrong to push back against Trump’s approach to peace talks with Russia

White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.

The US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should “tone down” his criticism of the US and take a “hard look” at the deal. It proposes giving Washington $500bn worth of natural resources, including oil and gas.

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Trump’s savage attack on Zelenskyy shaped by pro-Russian coterie

‘Kremlin whisperers’ have the president’s ear and dissenters are few – but a thin skin and self-interest are also at play

Donald Trump’s tarring of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” who is to blame for the war with Russia, plunging Ukraine into a Darwinian struggle for its very existence, landed like a bombshell on the diplomatic landscape. But it did not come out of nowhere.

The US president has left the already badly frayed western alliance in disarray with a devastating social media attack on his Ukrainian counterpart, just hours after he had already implicitly blamed Kyiv for Russia’s invasion.

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French foreign minister makes rules-based order plea to global south over Ukraine

Jean-Noël Barrot tells G20 to prioritise those who support the law rather than power by force

European powers have made a plea at the G20 in South Africa to countries in the global south that they show unambivalent support for the international rules-based order, including the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Writing in the Guardian, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the real line of geopolitical division was not between north and south but between those who supported the international rules-based order and those who did not.

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Trump calls Zelenskyy a dictator amid fears of irreconcilable rift

Remark follows Ukrainian leader’s claim US president living in a Russian ‘disinformation bubble’

The US and Ukraine appeared to be heading towards an irreconcilable rift after Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling the Ukrainian president “a dictator” and warning that he “better move fast” or he “won’t have a country left”.

The US leader’s comments on Wednesday, which were rife with falsehoods, came after Zelenskyy said Trump was “trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble,” following Trump’s claims that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion, remarks that echoed the Kremlin’s narrative.

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