Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to Volodymyr Zelensky to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” after Donald Trump claimed he was a “dictator”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had called Mr Zelensky on Wednesday evening and said it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War Two”.
The call follows a day in which Mr Zelensky had traded barbs with Mr Trump, leading the US president to post a diatribe on his social media site, TruthSocial, in which he claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was “a dictator without elections”.
Earlier, Mr Trump had suggested that Ukraine had started the current conflict in Russia, and falsely claimed Mr Zelensky had an approval rating of 4 per cent.
In response, Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump was living in a “disinformation space”.
Other UK figures have also hit out at Mr Trump’s comments, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch saying Mr Zelensky was “the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to (Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Trump’s comments “must be where the line is drawn” and hoped “the whole political spectrum” in the UK would “speak with one voice in opposition to Trump’s lies”.
The Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to President Zelensky this evening and stressed the need for everyone to work together.
“The prime minister expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War Two.”
Following the call, Mr Zelensky said his country would “never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens”.
The Ukrainian president said: “I spoke with UK prime minister Keir Starmer. The United Kingdom’s role in fortifying Europe’s defence and security is important for us.
“We discussed upcoming plans and opportunities. UK’s support matters indeed, and we will never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens. Thank you for your support.”
Mr Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019.
Elections were previously scheduled to go ahead in 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
The UK held no general election between 1935 and 1945, with the outbreak of war in 1939 causing the election due by the following year to be postponed.
Sir Keir’s call with Mr Zelensky comes as the prime minister prepares to head to Washington next week for his first meeting with Mr Trump since his inauguration in January.
That meeting will see Britain attempt to balance support for Ukraine with the need to keep the White House onside.
The Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir had “reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression” during his call with Mr Zelensky.
Earlier this week, Washington and Moscow began talks to broker peace in Ukraine, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Ukraine was not invited to the talks, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Mr Zelensky has said his country will not accept a deal concluded in its absence.
Meanwhile, the UK has continued to stress its support for Ukraine, with defence secretary John Healey telling journalists on a visit to Norway that European allies should put “maximum pressure” on Mr Putin to ensure he would “negotiate seriously”.
On Monday, the prime minister attended a meeting in Paris with other European leaders to discuss both Ukraine and regional security, and called for the US to provide a security “backstop” to any peace agreement.
Sir Keir has also committed to consider sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a deal, although other European nations have resisted discussing the possibility.
Mr Zelensky saw a busy day of diplomacy in which he also spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte as he prepared to meet Mr Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, General Keith Kellogg, on Thursday.
The Ukrainian leader said: “It is crucial that this discussion – and our overall co-operation with the US – remains constructive.
“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure, and that is our goal. But most importantly, this goal must be shared by our partners, not just by us.”
