Starmer, World Leaders Demand Ukraine Ceasefire

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be in Ukraine on Saturday among world leaders to exert pressure on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in the war.

Overseeing the visit with Sir Keir is President Emmanuel Macron of France, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Friedrich Merz, who is now Germany’s chancellor this week for the first time. It is the second visit of Sir Keir as prime minister to Ukraine.

Sir Keir and the rest of the leaders are using his visit to push for Russia to “agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire” - a proposal which was first made by US president, Donald Trump. The leaders’ choice to make the journey to Kyiv together is a deliberately symbolic rebuff to the more than 20 leaders who went along with President Vladimir Putin to Moscow for Russia’s Victory Day commemorations on Friday. The leaders also swore to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine”.

The four leaders will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky for a virtual meeting of “coalition of the willing” – the circle of about 30 largely European nations looking for ways to secure Ukraine’s place if a peace deal with Russia is struck. They will also honor Ukrainian soldiers who died in fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion over three years ago.

In a statement released before their arrival, the leaders said: "We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion.”

"We reiterate our backing for President Trump's calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace. Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace. We are ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal. We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognized borders for generations to come. We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia's war machine."

Trump reiterated the call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire after a phone call with Zelensky. "If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions," Trump posted on Truth Social.