Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday, exchanging a handshake and a warm embrace before heading inside for talks. This high profile meeting comes just a day before a key US-Russia summit in Alaska that could affect the Kyiv-Moscow conflict, as a show of strong support as Ukraine and its European allies are being left out of the upcoming US-Russia summit.Zelenskyy’s visit to the British capital follows his participation in virtual talks from Berlin on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump and several European leaders. The leaders said that Trump had assured them that he would prioritise efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday.Both Zelenskyy and European leaders have voiced concerns that the bilateral US-Russia summit could sideline their interests, potentially producing outcomes favourable to Moscow. With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its fourth year, they fear any agreement could undermine Europe’s security.Earlier on Wednesday, Starmer had described the Alaska summit as “hugely important” and potentially a “viable” route to a ceasefire. However, he also hinted at European unease over the possibility of Ukraine being forced to cede territory, stressing the need for strong Western unity against Moscow.“International borders cannot be, and must not be changed by force, and again that’s a long-standing principle of this group,” he said. “And alongside that, any talk about borders, diplomacy, ceasefire has to sit alongside a robust and credible security guarantee to ensure that any peace, if there is peace, is lasting peace and Ukraine can defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.”Zelenskyy had earlier expressed gratitude to Starmer and other partners for their efforts to end the war. In a post on social media platform X, he said, “I spoke with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. I am grateful for the support. We share the same view on the need for a truly lasting peace for Ukraine and on the danger of Russia’s plan to reduce everything to discussing the impossible.”He had also highlighted that any decisions made without Ukraine’s involvement would be “decisions against peace.”
