UK PM Starmer speaks to Ukraine’s Zelenskyy on ceasefire talks progress

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening, discussing progress US President Donald Trump had made towards a ceasefire talks with Russia, Downing Street said.

Zelenskyy provided an update on the frontline situation, and Starmer reiterated Britain’s “unwavering support,” according to the statement.

Earlier, PA Media, citing Starmer’s office, reported Britain welcomed the “progress” Trump has made towards a ceasefire in Ukraine and said negotiations must lead to a “just and lasting peace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal.

Ukraine said it would support the scaled-back agreement, which would require both countries to hold off on firing on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.

“I think it will be right that we will have a conversation with President Trump and we will know in detail what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians,” Zelenskyy told reporters during an online briefing.

Since Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion, the war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.