Volodymyr Zelensky today appeared to tacitly attack Donald Trump for easing sanctions on Russian oil to cut prices hammered by his attack on Iran.
The Ukrainian president used a speech in Parliament to thank the UK for keeping up pressure on ‘wealthy madman’ Vladimir Putin despite fresh fighting in the Middle East.
Last week Trump signed a one-month sanction waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil currently floating around in tankers unable to dock anywhere.
It was designed to ease prices that spiked when Iran put a block on shipping transiting the Straits of Hormuz off its south coast.
In a London speech that focused on the growth of drone warfare, Mr Zelensky said that the tech had made war cheaper and taken it out of the hands of wealthy national leaders like Putin.
Speaking in front of an audience that included Sir Keir The Ukrainian leader added: ‘And even he is still being given money as sanctions on his oil are lifted.
‘I thank you that the UK is not doing this, thank you so much.’
Earlier, in meetings in No10, Sir Keir said that the UK’s focus must ‘remain on Ukraine’ despite the war in Iran and that Putin could not be allowed to profit from the new front.
But he also faced a fresh wave of attacks from Trump for the failure of Britain and other Nato members to support his faltering war.
The Ukrainian president used a speech in Parliament to thank the UK for keeping up pressure on ‘wealthy madman’ Vladimir Putin despite fresh fighting in the Middle East.
The Ukrainian president is in the UK for talks after the PM warned that soaring energy bills caused by Trump’s attacks on Iran must not provide a ‘windfall’ for Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
The US president branded the Prime Minister ‘disappointing’ in his latest free-form press conference in the Oval Office.
He renewed his attack that Sir Keir is ‘no Churchill’ – pointing to a sculpture of Britain’s wartime premier on the table behind him.
The PM last night warned that soaring energy bills caused by Trump’s attacks on Iran must not provide a ‘windfall’ for Vladimir Putin‘s war machine.
The West has been trying to maintain sanctions to starve Moscow of funding, but America temporarily loosened restrictions on Russia last week in a bid to bolster supplies.
Donald Trump has also linked US support for Ukraine to whether Nato powers send forces to help reopen the Strait – something most are unwilling to do.
There are hopes Mr Zelensky could salvage a silver lining from the situation by leveraging Ukraine’s hard-won expertise in dealing with Iranian drones.
He embraced the PM outside No10 today after having met with the King at Buckingham Palace.
And speaking inside, Sir Keir said: ‘Putin can’t be the one who benefits from a conflict in Iran, whether that’s oil prices or the dropping of sanctions.’
Starmer and Zelensky were joined by Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Downing Street
Zelensky embraced the PM outside No10 today after having met earlier with the King at Buckingham Palace
The King met Volodymyr Zelensky in Buckingham Palace’s first-floor drawing room before the president was invited to take tea with the monarch in his private study during the 25-minute meeting.
Charles and Mr Zelensky greeted one another with mutual warmth and respect, building on their many previous encounters, the Press Association understands.
The King, who in January paid tribute to the Ukrainian people’s resilience and the country’s ‘valiant strength’, and expressed his hopes for a ‘just and lasting peace’, is said to have rearticulated these sentiments in person to Mr Zelensky.
Downing Street has announced a partnership with Kyiv to bring together ‘Ukrainian expertise and the UK’s industrial base’ to manufacture and supply drones and other capabilities.
As part of the agreement, the UK will put £500,000 towards a new ‘AI centre of excellence’ in Kyiv, which would be made up of experts working to see how the technology can best be used for a ‘battlefield advantage’, No 10 said.
Closer co-operation in the defence industries will also be sought with third countries under the partnership as part of efforts to bolster international security.
Ahead of his talks with Mr Zelensky, Sir Keir said: ‘We must work in lockstep with our partners and allies to deliver security at home and abroad, and this new partnership with Ukraine will do just that.
‘Drones, electronic warfare and rapid battlefield innovation are now central to national and economic security, and that has only been further magnified by the conflict in the Middle East.
‘By deepening our defence partnerships, we are strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s brutal, ongoing attacks, while ensuring the UK and our allies are better prepared to meet the threats of the future.’
Iranian reprisals for the US-Israel action have been causing chaos across the Middle East (pictured, a fire near Dubai airport)
The new declaration will build on the 100-year partnership, which was signed last year by the two leaders and aims to set out a path for continued solidarity with war-torn Kyiv, including financial support.
No10 said the pact would help Ukraine’s armed forces defend the country against aggression from Moscow but also enable allies to use the lessons learnt to ‘outmanoeuvre Russia and its cronies in contested theatres across the world’.
Defence Secretary John Healey repeated his warnings of an ‘axis of aggression between Russia and Iran’, which he said made it ‘increasingly important that we build on Ukrainian expertise and innovation, supported by British industry’.
‘I pay tribute to the huge courage and ingenuity of the Ukrainian people – military and civilians alike – and I am determined to make 2026 the year this war ends,’ he said.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is also expected to meet the PM in Downing Street as part of the visit, with a trilateral discussion focused on the Ukraine war.
The talks will cover ‘the need to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia’, No 10 said.
