THE UK will continue to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasised, after Donald Trump claimed he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war.
Britain’s support for Ukraine remains “steadfast”, Angela Rayner said amid the US president’s moves to draw the conflict to an end.
Trump said he had agreed with Russia’s leader to “work together, very closely” on bringing the three-year conflict to an end in a phone conversation on Wednesday.
The US president’s call with the Putin came just hours after Zelensky warned “Putin is not preparing for peace” and called for unity from Ukraine’s allies.
Speaking to ITV’s Peston, the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government and “the whole of parliament” were united in support for Kyiv, when asked about the US president’s claims.
“We’ll continue to support Ukraine, and … the Prime Minister was very clear when he answered that question earlier today in the House,” she added.
Defence Secretary John Healey said earlier that welcoming Ukraine into Nato will take “some time”, and the focus “for now” should be on ensuring Kyiv is in a strong position going into any potential peace talks, following the US' insistence that the country’s membership was not realistic.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of defence leaders, Healey said that Ukraine’s “rightful place” was within Nato, which the country has been seeking to join for several years.
But he sought to play down splits between the UK and Washington, despite US defence secretary Pete Hegseth appearing to rule out membership for the country as a way of guaranteeing its security.
It will be a major blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as admission of new countries to the alliance requires unanimous agreement from existing members.
