U.K. pledges export financing for air defense as world leaders discuss ending war in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Image via AP.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday he does not see the U.S. as an unreliable ally, but Europe must continue to provide funding for Ukraine to strengthen it if peace is negotiated.

Wrapping up a security summit in London with other European and world leaders, Starmer said nobody wanted to see the breakdown in talks that happened Friday at the White House but that the U.S. remains an important ally.

“The U.S. has been a reliable ally to the U.K. for many, many decades and continues to be,” Starmer said. “There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries.”

Starmer said the plan he is working on for peace in Ukraine is intended to receive U.S. backing. The U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply Ukraine with 5,000 air defense missiles, he said.

The meeting comes two days after U.S. support for Ukraine appeared in greater jeopardy after President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasn’t grateful enough for U.S. support.

And he warned that Europe had to do the heavy lifting in defending itself.

The meeting has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy by Trump, who blasted him Friday at the White House as being ungrateful for U.S. support against the invasion by Russia.

Starmer said he’s focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than “ramp up the rhetoric.”

The London meeting has become increasingly important in defending the war-torn ally and strengthening the continent’s defenses.

Sunday’s summit will likely include talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve “a coalition of the willing.”

Starmer told the BBC he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. “Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes,” he said.

Starmer said there are “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the U.S.

“If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again,” Starmer said. “That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there’s a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.”

Starmer listed three essentials for a successful peace deal: arming the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength, including a European element to guarantee security, and providing a “U.S. backstop” to prevent Putin from breaking promises.

“That’s the package. All three parts need to be in place, and that’s what I’m working hard to bring together,” Starmer said.

Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following a charm offensive last week to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe.

The summit included leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Romania. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general, and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also present.

After the White House fiasco, an exceptional attack on an ally broadcast on live television, Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe.

Starmer embraced Zelenskyy as he arrived at the meeting Sunday.

Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who most Western leaders had isolated since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war.

Meetings in recent days had provided some hope — until Zelenskyy visited the White House.

Macron’s visits to the Oval Office, who had declared his visit a “turning point,” and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial, and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained that Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops.

Within 12 hours of Starmer’s return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump’s assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted.

“Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europe’s agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal,” said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. “Unfortunately, Friday’s White House meeting was a major step backward.”

Ellehuus said Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some 200 billion euros ($207 billion) in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort.

“The immediate goal of the meetings in London must be to keep Ukraine in the fight so it can negotiate from a maximum position of strength,” she said.

Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and must look after itself. He said European countries must increase their arms spending to at least 3% of GDP.

“If we don’t increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we won’t end up well,” he said.

Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending as he called for unity.

“We should have woken up earlier,” Macron said. “I’ve been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe.”

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.