Britain will ‘turn the screws’ on Vladimir Putin with a package of sanctions against Russia to reassert the UK’s ‘ironclad’ support for Ukraine, the Government will announce today.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will make the vow as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to fly out for an historic meeting with Donald Trump at the White House – while Washington and Kyiv continue to haggle over demands President Zelensky hand over hundreds of billions of pounds of mineral reserves in exchange for US military support.
Diplomatic preparations for the visit were thrown into chaos last week when the US president launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Volodymyr Zelensky, calling Ukraine’s leader a ‘dictator’ who had ‘no cards’ in peace negotiations.
Trump also said that the British Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron – who will visit the White House tomorrow, three days before Sir Keir – ‘haven’t done anything’ to end the war.
Indicating that the Government would not dilute its support for Ukraine in the face of President Trump’s attacks, Mr Lammy said he was planning to announce ‘the largest package of sanctions against Russia since the early days of the war – eroding their military machine and reducing revenues fuelling the fires of destruction in Ukraine‘.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s third anniversary of the Russian invasion, the Foreign Secretary declared: ‘This is a critical moment in the history of Ukraine, Britain and all of Europe. The repercussions of Putin’s invasion have already been felt far beyond the front line.
‘Now is the time for Europe to double down on our support for Ukraine, in pursuit of peace through strength. On the battlefield we remain committed to providing £3 billion of military support a year to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible, and being ready and willing to provide UK troops as part of peacekeeping forces if necessary.
‘[This is] the time to turn the screws on Putin’s Russia‘.
Sir Keir Starmer is set to fly out for an historic meeting with Donald Trump at the White House
Washington and Kyiv continue to haggle over demands President Zelensky hand over hundreds of billions of pounds of mineral reserves in exchange for US military support
David Lammy has said that it is time to ‘put the screws’ to Putin’s (pictured) Russia
It comes after Sir Keir told Mr Zelensky in a phone call yesterday – their second in four days – that he would urge Mr Trump to safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty.
A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister began by reiterating the UK’s ironclad support for Ukraine and commitment to securing a just and enduring peace to bring an end to Russia’s illegal war.
‘The Prime Minister repeated that Ukraine must be at the heart of any negotiations to end the war and that safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty was essential to deter future aggression from Russia.’
American and Ukrainian officials are working on a draft agreement under which American could secure up to $500 billion (£400 million) worth of Ukrainian minerals.
The nation has Europe’s largest reserves of titanium, used to produce alloys for aircraft and ships, as well as vast sources of lithium, for use in electric vehicles, and other minerals essential for high-tech industries.
Mr Zelensky said the demands of the US ‘payback deal’ went far beyond America’s total contribution to the Ukraine war effort of $100 billion. Tensions between the two sides rose so high that Trump threatened to completely pull US funding from Ukraine and to cut Kyiv’s vital access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications system if it did not agree to the mineral rights deal.
A senior White House official said: ‘Zelensky is an actor who committed a common mistake of theatre kids: he started to think he’s the character he plays on TV.
‘Yes, he has been brave and stood up to Russia. But he would be six feet under if it wasn’t for the millions we spent, and he needs to exit stage right.’
Trump has said that the British Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron – who will visit the White House tomorrow – ‘haven’t done anything’ to end the war
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: ‘Now is the time for Europe to double down on our support for Ukraine’
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy in London over the weekend to support Ukraine, amid increasing tensions between Washington and Kyiv
Demonstrators were chanting ‘stop Russia, stop the war’ and ‘Russia is a terrorist state’, after marching to the embassy in Notting Hill on Saturday
Yesterday, a Ukrainian source said of the proposed deal: ‘The agreement is not yet ready to be signed. There are a number of problematic issues in the current draft and the president is not ready to accept it. The drafts do not reflect a partnership… only unilateral commitments by Ukraine.’
Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: ‘I look forward to the outcome [of negotiations] – a just result.’
Sir Keir also spoke to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, yesterday, with the two leaders agreeing Europe must ‘step up’ for the good of collective security.
Meanwhile, thousands of pro-Ukraine protesters gathered outside Russia’s London embassy yesterday, with some brandishing placards which read: ‘Trump, Musk and Putin are in denial of the truth.’
