Britain pushes Ukraine allies for missiles, funding

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in London on Friday for meetings with the more than 20 allied countries in the “coalition of the willing.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer planned to join Zelenskyy in petitioning allies to give Ukraine more long-range missiles for its conflict against Russia.

Starmer is also expected to petition allies to decide how Russian assets frozen after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine should be used towards peace talks. Discussions on more sanctions against Russian gas and oil are expected, after the European Union and the United States’ sanctions earlier this week.

The London meeting came on the heels of Zelenskyy's meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Union summit in Brussels. The EU summit agreed to support Ukraine’s mounting financial needs for 2026 and 2027, but didn’t move forward with using Russia’s frozen assets after Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s concerns around legality.

Zelenskyy on Wednesday met with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., for productive talks about a potential ceasefire, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The NATO leader also signaled support for economically pressuring Russia to end its war and get the Kremlin to start serious peace negotiations.

How has Russia been responding to all the bilateral meetings and sanctions? Russian leaders are still analyzing the sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. President Vladimir Putin’s top priority is to respond by meeting Russia’s best interests, he added. Peskov blamed Ukraine for the stall in negotiations, accusing Kyiv of being unwilling to move forward. Ukraine’s reluctance to negotiate is only being encouraged by its European allies, he added.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more about the new sanctions against Russia.