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Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that Ukraine must be allowed to decide the terms of any peace deal with Russia in a challenge to proposals by Donald Trump. The Prime Minister contradicted Mr Trump by saying that the “courageous” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, was not to blame for the failure to strike an agreement ending the war. Sir Keir also refused to back US plans to formally recognise Crimea as Russian in any negotiated settlement with Vladimir Putin, and demanded that Moscow agree to an “unconditional ceasefire”.

Ukraine reports strikes just hours after Russian leader agreed to suspend attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in a call with US president. Vladimir Putin rejected Donald Trump’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine after a “frank” phone call on Tuesday between the two presidents. Instead, the Russian leader agreed to a 30-day pause in attacks on energy plants and infrastructure and to hold further talks on stopping hostilities in the Black Sea.

A US medic in charge of the care of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline tells World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley near Konstantinyvka how Russia does not commit to ceasefires, her fury at Trump’s betrayal and why Ukraine will never give up. [Video at link]

It has taken three years, but Europe is at last putting its collective economy on an industrial war footing. The sums of money are eye-watering. […] “It is becoming obvious to everybody that defense spending is the way to offset job losses in the car industry,” said Holger Schmieding, the chief economist at Berenberg Bank. […] If enacted on anything close to this scale, such a high-octane blast of military Keynesianism will entirely change the economic and geopolitical shape of the world. It is the coming boom in Europe that we should all be betting on. Bavaria’s premier Markus Söder...

The unpopular Sir Keir Starmer says he will assemble a "coalition of the willing" in Ukraine: the phrase his Labour Party and Bush used to invade Iraq. He also boasts the UK will puts "boots on the ground" in Ukraine: but can only do so with "strong US backing."

UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer said ahead of a Lancaster House summit on Sunday that Britain and France will work to craft a Ukraine ceasefire deal that would be presented to the United States. Echoing the language of former U.S. President George W. Bush, the Labour Party leader said that London and Paris will seek to build a “coalition of the willing” to enforce a peace in Ukraine. The UK and France have already committed to sending troops into the former Eastern bloc nation to act as peacekeepers, but other European nations, notably Italy, Germany, and Poland, have so...

Almost all of the European Prime Ministers and Presidents are meeting today in London coming up with a cease fire plan for Ukraine. Sir Keir Starmer is stepping up with Ground Troops and an Air Force to enforce whatever cease fire agreement gets negotiated. Considering the state of the UK military I wonder how this will work out and what UK citizens will think about this.

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Sir Keir Starmer will reportedly defy Donald Trump over Ukraine ahead of meeting the US President in the White House next week. The Prime Minister is expected to announce a new package of support for Ukraine on Monday - the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Sir Keir will unveil what has been described by some in Whitehall as a "triple whammy” of measures, including military aid and sanctions, according to The Telegraph. The reported move is at odds with US messaging, and the new support package could frustrate the White House. The US is pushing for an end to...

Breaking News.. He just said (on TV) there needs be an American backstop and a security guarantee so Russia "can never do this again" (paraphrasing) and Britain will contribute troops if there is a lasting peace agreement

Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia, acknowledging it could put troops “in harm’s way” if Vladimir Putin launches another attack. It is understood to be the first time the prime minister has explicitly stated he is considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine. The comments came just before emergency talks with European leaders in Paris on Monday. The leaders will aim to devise a strategy in response to Donald Trump’s push for a deal with the Russian president and to...

With president's 'peace talks' compared to Chamberlain appeasing Hitler Donald Trump's concessions on Ukraine have played into the hands of Vladimir Putin, experts have warned, at a time when intelligence chiefs say Moscow is preparing its military for a major war in Europe. US defence chief Pete Hegseth told European counterparts on Wednesday that Ukraine's dream of returning to its pre-2014 borders was an 'illusionary goal' and that Kyiv's wish for NATO membership was 'not realistic'. His statements are widely seen as a major victory for Putin and a devastating blow to Kyiv, which as a result could be forced...