UK PM Keir Starmer to Host Zelenskyy and European Leaders in London for Ukraine Security Talks

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and more than a dozen European leaders to London on Sunday for high-level discussions on security guarantees for Kyiv in case of a ceasefire with Russia, Bloomberg reported on February 28.

The summit will provide a platform for Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to update European allies on their meetings in Washington this week with U.S. President Donald Trump. Their discussions aimed to persuade Trump to commit to a US military “backstop” in case Moscow violates any future peace agreement.

According to Starmer’s office, leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, and Romania have been invited.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa are also expected to attend.

Starmer is set to hold separate bilateral meetings with Zelenskyy and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, his office confirmed.

European leaders are pushing Trump to provide U.S. aerial intelligence, surveillance, and air cover as a last resort to assist European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if they come under attack by Russian forces.

However, Trump has so far declined to make such a commitment. Speaking alongside Starmer in Washington on Thursday, Trump avoided a direct pledge but added, “If they need help, I will always be with the British.”

Ahead of the summit, a senior British official noted that even a degree of ambiguity from the US could serve as a deterrent, leaving Russian leader Vladimir Putin uncertain about how Washington might respond if European peacekeepers were attacked.

Earlier, Starmer said that the UK is ready to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine, stating “I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal working together with our allies because that is the only way that peace will last.”