Starmer: Ukraine's Future Pivotal to UK Security
BBC News
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Keir Starmer is speaking to reporters following a meeting in London with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders – watch live above
"Your security is our security," Starmer tells his Ukrainian counterpart, before saying Russia's Vladimir Putin is "not serious about peace"
Zelensky, also speaking, says "pressure" on Moscow is the only way Kyiv can win the war – he also thanks the US for imposing fresh sanction on Russian oil
Earlier, the UK prime minister and Zelensky shared a warm embrace outside No 10 – a clear message to Zelensky that the UK wants to remain one of Ukraine's most dependable allies, writes our reporter
Zelensky also met King Charles today -their third meeting this year
"Life in Ukraine is really difficult," one woman in Kyiv tells the BBC, as other Ukrainians share their fears ahead of another winter at war
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Watch: King Charles greets Zelensky at Windsor earlier today
Edited by Emily Atkinson
The leaders are now taking questions. A Sky News journalist asks Starmer and Zelensky about the US's refusal to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Starmer says the UK is pushing the case for long-range missiles and that "discussions are ongoing".
Zelensky says both the so-called coalition of the willing and the US will help Ukraine achieve clear security guarantees.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof is up next.
Echoing the remarks of the other leaders, he says "we need to keep Ukraine in the fight" and "maximise support" to the country.
The only way to persuade Putin to negotiate is to increase economic pressure on Russia, he says.
The Netherlands will also "step up our energy assistance" to help Ukrainians through the winter, he adds, in light of Russia's attacks on energy infrastructure.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is up next.
Putin "doesn't want to stop the killing", she tells the news conference in London, adding there's no indication the Russian leader wants peace.
She says the leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing have agreed to increase pressure, commit to long-term financing and boost Ukraine's defence industry.
"We have taken significant steps with the EU's new sanctions package," she says, adding that the new US sanctions are also an important measure.
"Our promise to you, dear Volodymyr – and to Ukraine and to all Europeans – is that we are willing to continue," she says, rounding off her remarks.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte is now speaking.
He says new US sanctions against Russia's largest oil companies will "significantly increase the pressure on Putin" to negotiate.
They also show that Trump is "absolutely committed" to ending the war and bringing lasting peace to Ukraine.
Putin is "gaining little ground" on the battlefield in Ukraine, Rutte says. These "marginal gains" are coming at a "huge price", with hundreds of thousands of Russians dying "for Putin's deluded aggression".
The Russian president is "running out of money, troops and ideas", he adds. Now is the right time to increase the pressure, he says.
Zelensky says sanctions on Russian oil are a "big step", and thanks Trump and other allies for implementing them.
He adds pressure must be applied to all Russian oil companies, as well as its "shadow fleet" and oil terminals.
He adds that Ukraine is carrying out its own drone campaign of pressure, saying long-range capability directly strengthens diplomacy.
"Peace is born from pressure on the aggressor," says Zelensky. "That is what we must continue to do" he says, concluding his remarks.
Zelensky says Russia is carrying out a "campaign of terror against our energy system" and wants to use the winter to "torment" the people of Ukraine.
"Their goal hasn't changed: they want to break us," he says. "They want to break Ukraine and they're doing everything to achieve that."
The Ukrainian president says there is a need to reinforce air defence, put "substantial attention" on the front line.
Sanctions are still crucial in pressuring Russia into ending the war, he adds.
Starmer hands over to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who starts by thanking his fellow leaders for their help.
He says today's meeting of the "coalition of the willing" and yesterday's meeting of EU leaders were "very important".
Today, all the partners have confirmed that they will continue to support Ukraine next year, he says, including with "crucial" financial support.
Japan's new prime minister has joined the coalition for the first time, he adds.
Starmer continues to outline aspects of the discussions had this afternoon by leaders in the so-called coalition of the willing.
"We are strengthening Ukraine's air defence," he says, announcing the acceleration of a missile-building programme to deliver 140 ahead of schedule.
"We will keep up the military pressure on Putin.. through continued provision of long-range capabilities," he adds.
The group will continue to work on security guarantees to uphold "a just and lasting peace" will also stay in focus, he says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "is the only person who does not want to stop this war", Starmer tells the assembled press in Westminster.
He cites Russia's latest attacks on civilian targets as a "crystal clear" example of Putin's rejection of peace.
"Time after time, he rejects the chance to end the war," he says, showing "yet again he's not serious about peace".
He also says leaders must push Putin back to the negotiating table and will act to take Russian gas off the market.
Continuing his address, Starmer says the so-called coalition of the willing is united behind Ukraine and US President Donald Trump in calling for the fighting to stop now and for negotiations to begin "from the current line of contact".
Trump was right to impose new sanctions on Russian oil firms, Starmer says, adding that the UK and EU have also imposed sanctions recently.
"We must now maintain this pressure," he says.
Five leaders in the so-called coalition of the willing leaders just walked out for a joint news conference in London.
Keir Starmer speaks first. We are "fighting, not just for Ukraine but for the freedom and security" of all British and European people, he says.
"Your security is our security," he says.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is speaking at a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after talks with European leaders.
We'll bring you the key lines here – tap watch live at the top of the page to follow along.
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Russia's key negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has criticised recent sanctions imposed by Donald Trump's administration, calling them "unfriendly".
Speaking after arriving in the US for more talks with American representatives, he says: "Sanctions and unfriendly measures will have absolutely no impact on Russia's economy".
"Potential for economic cooperation between Russia and the US is still there, but it will be realised only if Russia's interests are respected," Dmitriev says.
Meanwhile, BBC'S US partner CBS is reporting that Dmitriev will meet Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami.
The meeting was planned weeks prior to Trump announcing sanctions on Russian oil and gas companies, it adds.
We can bring you some more now from the meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing.
Addressing leaders, President Zelensky urges them not to "give Russia any reason to think they can finish this war with any outcome that is unfair to us".
"We must all remember that the issues of territorial integrity as well as any alleged trade of lands must not reward the aggressor or reward any future aggression" he says.
"Only a strong and fair solution to end the war will really work. Please support us in this."
As fighting rages in Ukrainian, Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control – mostly in the east of Ukraine – and have continued their recent barrage of air strikes on Kyiv and other cities.
One of Moscow's points of focus is the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, together known as the Donbas. Russia has been trying to gain full control of the area along with two more regions to the west – Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia held referenda to try to annexe all these regions – in the same way it had annexed Crimea in 2014 – but it has never taken full control.
Earlier, we reported on Russian shelling in Kherson – a city in southern Ukraine – in which two people were killed and 17 others injured, according to the head of the city's military administration.
We can now bring you more images of the damage, distributed by local officials:
The group of leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing leaders are currently inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for talks with Zelensky.
Here's what else is on the agenda:
Anastasiia Levchenko
BBC News
Residents inspect cars destroyed during an overnight Russian strike in Kyiv
Over in Ukraine, most people I speak to say they are more focused on their everyday problems, rather than following President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the UK.
Yana Kolomiets, from Odesa, says there's a lack of electricity, heating and water but this isn't the the most "scary" aspect of the conflict.
"The more scary thing is that the Russians started launching guided bombs on our region," she says.
"This is new for our region. I don't know about others but I got used to everything already. I just live in a way I lived before. I keep working."
Tetiana Dankevych, from Kyiv, says power outages and a lack of water and heating has made life "very difficult".
Dankevych hopes that the winter will not be as bad as previous ones. "I hope our energy facilities will be repaired and this winter will not be too hard.
"I don't have a feeling this war will end soon. But I really hope it will, because life in Ukraine is really difficult now.
Anastasiia Zarechenskova, who also lives in Kyiv, says she's not afraid of the difficult winter – and is prepared to relocate to her work place "if things get really bad at home".
"Although some people I know are not ready to get through this and they are planning to leave Ukraine. I understand them," she says.
"And also I feel responsible. We have to unite now. We have to help our armed forces."
We can bring you a little bit more now from the talks between the leaders in the so-called coalition of the willing.
After Emmanuel Marcon, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers brief remarks, which he begins by accusing Russia's Vladimir Putin of rejecting opportunities for talks in the last few days.
"Instead he's making ludicrous demands for Ukrainian land which he could not take by force," he adds.
Starmer says that's a "non-starter", adding that Putin is targeting civilians and energy infrastructure.
"This is the time for pressure," he says.
Continuing, Macron next says that the so-called coalition of the willing has a "defined a strategy to support Ukraine's future security so that it can deter and defend itself against a future attack".
He reiterates "plans in place to deploy a multinational force in Ukraine once hostilities have ceased".
The force will help secure Ukraine's skies, seas and help it regenerate its armed forces.
He adds that this force will have "support and input from 25 participating countries".
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