The Defence Secretary has compared Volodymyr Zelensky to Winston Churchill by not holding elections during war time, after Donald Trump reiterated his assertion that the Ukrainian leader was a “dictator”.
John Healey said that he had seen Mr Zelensky’s “commitment to his country” and talks about peacekeeping forces were “jumping ahead of ourselves” at a press conference alongside his Norwegian counterpart on Thursday.
The US president repeated his attacks on the Ukrainian leader overnight after a war of words erupted between the two leaders, which saw Mr Trump criticise Mr Zelensky for postponing elections and claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia.
Mr Healey has now added his voice to those in support of Mr Zelensky, after Sir Keir Starmer gave the Ukrainian leader his backing in a phone call on Wednesday night.
Speaking at a press conference in Norway, Mr Healey was asked following comments by Donald Trump whether it could be trusted that the US still has Europe’s best security interests at heart.
He said: “Europe’s best security interests and America’s best security interests are satisfied by an end to this war in Ukraine and by a strong, unified Nato.
“That’s an argument that we are having and have discussed with the Americans and will continue to make.”
Mr Healey said that he had seen Ukrainian leader Mr Zelensky’s “commitment to his country”.
He later added: “This was a man who, stuck in his country, led his country, and still does. He was elected.
“He’s the elected leader of Ukraine, and he’s done what Winston Churchill did in Britain in the Second World War, suspended elections while at war.
“And our job is to stand with the Ukrainians, support the Ukrainians, support them in their fight.
“And if they choose to talk, support them in the negotiations as well.”
I spoke with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. The United Kingdom’s role in fortifying Europe’s defense and security is important for us.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 19, 2025
We discussed upcoming plans and opportunities. UK’s support matters indeed, and we will never forget the respect the British people have shown…
Speaking at an investment meeting in Miami on Wednesday, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of talking “the United States of America into spending 350 billion dollars (£278 billion) to go into a war that basically couldn’t be won, that never had to start and never would have started if I was president”.
Mr Trump added: “He refuses to have elections. The only thing he was really good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle.
“A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast. He’s not going to have a country left.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that Mr Zelensky is “not a dictator” but told GB News it was “only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections”.
The criticisms of Mr Zelensky from the US come as Europe is scrambling to respond to the turmoil over Ukraine’s future and what it could mean for wider continental security, after Washington and Moscow started talks earlier this week to broker peace in Ukraine.
Mr Healey pledged that “Britain will support Ukraine on the “battlefield and the negotiating table” but that talks about peacekeeping forces were “jumping ahead of ourselves”.
Formal negotiations were still yet to start, he said despite the initial talks between the US and Russia taking place.
Speaking at the same press conference in Norway, the Defence Secretary said: “In many ways we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.
“Our Prime Minister had made the commitment that if we reach a ceasefire, we reach an end to the fighting, security guarantees will be needed and Britain is ready to play a full part in that and we’re leading some of the detailed discussions about what may be needed, but I am certainly not going to give you any detail that is going to make President (Vladimir) Putin the wiser.”
He added: “Fundamentally though, the war is still being fought.
“Russia is still bombing, firing on, launching drones, not just on Ukrainian troops but on Ukrainian cities.
“The Ukrainians are still fighting and our job is to support them in that fight, to keep them as strong as they can be when they come to the negotiating table.
“Support them on the battlefield, support them at the negotiating table when they choose to do so.”
Sir Keir is due to make a trip to Washington DC next week for talks with Mr Trump, including on Ukraine and European security.
The meeting will be Sir Keir’s first with Mr Trump since his inauguration as US president in January, and will see Britain attempt to balance its support for Ukraine with the need to keep the White House onside.
Earlier on Wednesday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said that a “role for Europe” in the end to the war in Ukraine are likely to be among the topics the PM will bring up for discussion in the US.
