Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce a new package of support for Ukraine days after Donald Trump branded the Ukrainian president a ‘dictator’.
The Prime Minister will use the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, to reveal a ‘triple whammy’ of measures.
Final details of the measures are being drawn up, but could include extra weapons for Ukrainian forces and sanctions, which would build on the already over 2,000 Russian people and entities that have been sanctioned since the war.
On Monday, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, will give interviews explaining the extra support and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is expected to address the Commons.
The measures would emphasise Britain’s backing for Kyiv, a stark contrast to Mr Trump, who has been piling pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war while criticising him for being upset at being left out of US-Russia peace talks that would carve up his country.
Mr Zelensky has attempted to satisfy Washington’s demands for a peace settlement as he is set to sign a deal giving US access to deposits of critical minerals.
It came after Zelensky angered Trump so much during negotiations that Trump threatened to completely pull US funding from Ukraine, Axios reported.
The differences between the UK and US will come to a head on Thursday when Sir Keir visits the White House for face-to-face talks with Mr Trump.
Donald Trump has been piling pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war while criticising him for being upset at being left out of US-Russia peace talks that would carve up his country
The differences between the UK and US will come to a head on Thursday when Sir Keir visits the White House for face-to-face talks with Mr Trump
Mr Trump has already criticised the Prime Minister ahead of his visit, claiming he ‘didn’t do anything’ to end the Ukraine war.
And Sir Keir’s new support package risks angering Mr Trump further.
To calm tensions, Sir Keir is expected to announce the date when 2.5% of UK GDP will be spent on defence, The Telegraph reported.
This would likely be sold to the US President as proof that Downing Street agrees with his demand for increased defence spending by European nations.
However, Sir Keir will likely be interrogated on how the spending increase would be paid for.
He will also present Mr Trump with an invitation from the King offering a state visit, which would make him the first elected leader in modern history to receive the honour twice.
A senior government source told The Telegraph: ‘We have always said we want to put Ukraine in the strongest position, whether that’s for going into talks or for the continuation of fighting.
‘We still don’t know which of those positions we’re going to be in. It’s right that we continue to support Ukraine in all the ways that we have long said we will.’
Mr Zelensky has attempted to satisfy Washington’s demands for a peace settlement as he is set to sign a deal giving US access to deposits of critical minerals
Trump has famously said that the Russia-Ukraine war would never have started had he been president and claimed he could bring the conflict to an abrupt halt
Next week, the French president, Emmanuel Macron will also travel to Washington.
The UK and French leaders’ biggest challenge will be convincing Mr Trump to soften his approach.
Mr Trump’s administration stunned world leaders after he refused to sign a planned G7 statement calling Russia the ‘aggressor’ in the conflict.
He also wrote on his platform Truth Social, an extraordinary and lengthy tirade, condemning both Zelensky and the billions in aid the Biden administration had given Ukraine during Russia’s bloody war on the country.
The president has been clear that Ukraine must remunerate the US for the aid provided to support the war effort thus far. The US President has said the figure stands at $300 billion.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (middle left) met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (far right) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mr Trump claimed he had ‘very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine’
Washington also refused to co-sponsor a United Nations statement that supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and demands Moscow withdraw its forces from the war-torn nation.
In the same fashion, according to Western officials, US envoys refused to label Russia an ‘aggressor’ at a meeting of a ‘core group’ of countries preparing a Nuremberg-style tribunal to try Vladimir Putin for his war crimes.
A Conservative MP described the president’s remarks as ‘nuts’, saying: ‘I’ve just heard those Trump comments. They’re nuts.
‘To say we’ve done nothing – we’ve all been labouring under the illusion that we were trying to help Ukraine defend her country.
‘I don’t know where he’s getting his information from, but he needs to start getting it from somewhere else.’
In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said he didn’t think it was ‘very important’ for Zelensky to be involved in peace talks as ‘he’s been there for three years’ and that he ‘makes it very hard to make deals’.
The American President also said Ukrainian leaders ‘don’t have any cards’ in talks aimed at ending the country’s war against a Russian invasion.
Trump has famously said that the Russia-Ukraine war would never have started had he been president and claimed he could bring the conflict to an abrupt halt.
Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered Kyiv a deal as part of ongoing negotiations to secure Ukraine’s long-term security in the event of a ceasefire agreement with Russia.
According to a private draft of the proposal seen by The Telegraph, this would see the US take 50% of revenues received by Ukraine from the extraction of natural resources.
It would also grant the US 50% of the financial value of ‘all new licences issued to third parties’ for the future monetisation of these resources.
