Sir Keir Starmer will join Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders for a crucial White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. The gathering represents a unified European show of solidarity with Ukraine as Trump appears increasingly willing to embrace Russia's territorial demands.
The meeting follows Trump's Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday, where the Russian leader demanded full control of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions as his price for ending the war. Several media outlets have reported Trump is planning to urge Zelensky to agree to these conditions as part of a peace deal.
France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Finland's Alexander Stubb, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte will join Starmer for the Washington talks. The delegation aims to prevent a repeat of February's explosive confrontation between Trump and Zelensky that ended with temporary suspension of US aid to Ukraine.
Trump shifts strategy
Trump has shifted his approach following the Alaska summit, moving away from demanding a ceasefire before peace talks to supporting Putin's preference for immediate territorial negotiations. This represents a significant policy reversal that has alarmed European allies about Ukraine's future sovereignty.
The coalition force aims to police a future peace deal by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine to deter Russian aggression. On Saturday, Starmer commended Trump for bringing the conflict "closer than ever" to an end.
Downing Street said: "The Prime Minister, with other European partners, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes."
Coalition prepares for peacekeeping
Starmer, Macron and Merz will host a coalition of the willing video call on Sunday at 2pm UK time to finalise plans for peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. According to The Standard, European leaders are increasingly confident that Trump will provide vital American air support guarantees for the coalition.
Zelensky is expected to attend Sunday afternoon's video call with leaders from the coalition of the willing. The Ukrainian leader has been pressing for security guarantees as essential to any sustainable peace agreement.
Territorial stakes revealed
According to The Guardian, Putin is demanding 6,600 square kilometres of the Donbas while offering to withdraw from only 440 square kilometres in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The Independent reports the disputed Donbas region is larger than Wales and Northern Ireland combined and contains Ukraine's largest coal reserves.
Zelensky wrote on social media: "We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation."
The Ukrainian leader emphasised that stopping Russian strikes remains essential to any sustainable peace agreement as European allies prepare to make their case for continued resistance to territorial concessions.
Sources used: "PA Media", "The Guardian", "The Standard", "Independent", "BBC", "Mirror", "Liverpool Echo", "Evening Standard", "The i", "Sky News"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
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