Vladimir Putin is “standing in the way” of a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he promised to stand by Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.
The prime minister made his comments on the fourth anniversary of the war, which was triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier the defence secretary John Healey said the war had been “four years of failure for Putin” .
In a defiant message, Volodymyr Zelensky also said that Putin still has not broken the Ukrainian people
The Ukrainian leader said in a televised address on Tuesday that “Putin has not achieved his goals”, while Ukraine has preserved its independence and “will do everything to achieve peace and to ensure justice”.
The PM used an address to his cabinet to praise the “incredible resilience” of Ukraine.
Sir Keir also warned the conflict was not “a remote” one happening “a long way away from the United Kingdom”.
“It’s about our values of freedom, democracy and the right of a country to decide for itself what it does, which is democracy and sovereignty,” he said.
The impact of the war was being felt in households across the UK because of the spike in energy prices since the invasion, he added.
“They are still 40% higher than they were before,” he said. “So, every family is feeling it. And how and when this conflict ends is going to affect everybody in the United Kingdom for a very long time, which is why it is so important we make sure that it’s a just and lasting peace.”
But he said “it is Putin who is standing in the way” of that outcome.
Asked for his reflections on the fourth anniversary of the war, Mr Healey told the Press Association: “This is a war he thought he would win in a week, he has lost more than a million men during that time and Russia has been fighting in Ukraine for longer than the Soviet Union was fighting Germany during the Second World War.
“Today, four years on, Ukrainians are fighting with just the same courage, just the same defiance, and our job, our duty, as allies of Ukraine is to stand by them, support them in their fight for today but also work to secure the peace for tomorrow. That is my mission.
Asked if he agreed with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that the “beginning of the end” of the war is afoot, Mr Healey said: “I want to make 2026, like President Zelensky does, the year that this war ends, that we can bring peace. The UK is ready to play a part in securing that peace for the long term.”
To mark the anniversary, the government has also put together a £5m package to support justice and accountability work in Ukraine, The Independent understands.
Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine continued over the weekend, with a barrage of missiles and drones killing one person in Kyiv and striking the country’s energy grid.
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, have said that the next round of talks aimed at ending the war could come as early as the end of this week.
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