Keir Starmer urged allies to “finish the job” on frozen Russian assets by using them to strengthen Ukraine’s defences as he sought to rally support for Kyiv amid stalled peace efforts.
The Prime Minister also condemned Vladimir Putin’s “ludicrous demands” for Ukrainian land as “a non-starter” as he convened a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” on Friday.
Sir Keir said allies should step up the provision of weapons as winter approaches and its energy infrastructure remains under threat from attacks by Moscow.
Other measures under consideration include further efforts to cripple Russia’s economy by taking its oil and gas off the global market and seeking ways to use billions in frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defences.
Sir Keir met Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelensky for a bilateral meeting in No 10 on Friday ahead of the two leaders joining a call along with the wider coalition of the willing – a group of more than 30 countries pledging support for Kyiv.
“We stand, as we’ve always stood, as your closest supporter and ally,” he told Mr Zelensky.
Speaking on the call, Sir Keir said countries must agree to “finish the job” on Russia’s sovereign assets and unlock funding to support Ukraine.
“The UK is ready to move in tandem with the EU to drive this forward as fast as possible, to get those funds flowing to Ukraine,” he said.
Allies must strengthen Ukraine’s air defences to help support the country in the depths of winter and provide long-range capability, he said.
“Finally, we must keep working on our security guarantees… including the multinational force for Ukraine that would be ready to uphold a future ceasefire,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader warned Russia was pushing Ukraine towards “humanitarian disaster” and urged allies not to forget the issue of territorial integrity.
“We must all remember that the issues of territorial integrity as well as any alleged trade of lands must not reward the aggressor or reward any future aggression.”
He said it was important not to “give Russia any reason to think they can finish this war with any outcome that is unfair to us”.
“Only a strong and fair solution to end the war will really work. Please support us in this,” Mr Zelensky said.