Sir Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelensky he supports Kyiv’s calls for a full ceasefire as Russian attacks on Ukraine continued despite Vladimir Putin’s promise of an “Easter truce”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister had spoken to Mr Zelensky on Monday to emphasise his “iron-clad” commitment to Ukraine and discuss plans for the “coalition of the willing” led by Britain and France.
The spokesperson added: “He said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war.”
I spoke with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer — a good and detailed conversation.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 21, 2025
Already this Wednesday, our representatives will be working in London. Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States — we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just… pic.twitter.com/cLHexIi5UY
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Zelensky described the conversation as “good and detailed”.
He added: “Already this Wednesday, our representatives will be working in London.
“Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States — we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace.”
The conversation comes after a 30-hour “Easter truce” unilaterally declared by Mr Putin on Saturday ended.
The Russian president had claimed that he was declaring a truce due to “humanitarian considerations”, shortly after US officials suggested Washington could end its efforts to mediate an end to the conflict if there were no signs of progress soon.
Mr Zelensky welcomed talk of a truce, challenging Mr Putin to extend it to 30 days as a previous US-Ukrainian proposal had suggested.
But both sides have accused each other of violating the temporary ceasefire, with Mr Zelensky saying Russia had breached its terms more than 2,900 times, shelling Ukrainian positions and carrying out drone attacks.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Ukraine’s Kherson oblast, said Russian attacks during the ceasefire had killed three people in his region.
Mr Zelensky said: “An unconditional ceasefire must be the first step toward peace, and this Easter made it clear that it is Russia’s actions that are prolonging the war.”
Russia’s defence ministry denied that its forces had breached the truce, and accused Ukraine of committing 4,900 violations.
The Kremlin has so far resisted calls for a longer ceasefire, while never fully ruling it out, and delayed implementing more limited agreements in the Black Sea, insisting that sanctions on Russia are eased first.
