UK backs Trump on Ukraine, but ‘won’t trust Putin as far as you can throw him’

Downing Street has backed Donald Trump’s interventions over the Ukraine war but warned Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted “as far as you can throw him” as the US President prepares to meet his Russian counterpart.

Kyiv has expressed concerns about the prospect of being excluded from peace talks as the two leaders look set to hold talks in Alaska this week to discuss the future of the Kremlin’s invasion.

Mr Trump has signalled he thinks Ukraine might need to cede territory in order to end the conflict.

Never trust Putin

Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer believes the Russian President could be trusted in negotiations, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the UK supported both Kyiv and the US President’s push for peace, but not Moscow.

“Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine,” he said on Monday.

“We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.

“But it is exactly why we’ve been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.

“So we’re not going to leave it to trust. We’re going to ensure that we’re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.”

Planning for the so-called coalition of the willing, which would involve a European-led peacekeeping force sent to Ukraine to monitor any future truce, began in March.

Downing Street said “operational planning continues at a military level” despite no talks between leaders planned for this week, but indicated that there was little left to finalise.

Ceasefire

Asked whether work relating to the coalition had been put on hold to keep the road clear for Washington-led mediation this week, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “No… if anything, the next step really is reaching that ceasefire, such that we’re then able to to implement the security guarantees.”

It comes after European leaders including Sir Keir said the path to peace for Kyiv “cannot be decided without Ukraine” and the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine could only be a “starting point of negotiations”.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said: “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.

“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”

The statement comes a day after Mr Trump announced that he would meet Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday, as he seeks an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office.

The US President had earlier suggested that any peace deal was likely to involve “some swapping of territories”, with reports suggesting this could involve Ukraine giving up its Donetsk region.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine’s territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by Ukraine’s constitution.

He said Mr Putin wanted to “exchange a pause in the war, in the killing, for the legalisation of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time”.

Mr Zelensky added: “We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third.”