Yesterday, my Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy, President Macron and Chancellor Merz in London for talks in which we recommitted our support to safeguarding Ukraine’s long-term security, sovereignty, and prosperity. The United Kingdom supports efforts, led by the US, to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, including robust security guarantees, in line with the principles of the UN Charter.
This is a war that President Putin started and could, if he wished, end at any time by ceasing his full-scale invasion. We continue to hope that Russia will engage seriously with peace talks. But, despite the genuine efforts of partners to mediate, Russia’s campaign against Ukraine has only intensified in its brutality.
The facts speak for themselves. Between 18 November and 4 December, Russia launched nearly 3,000 drones and over 110 missiles at Ukrainian cities. This is a repeated pattern of Russian behaviour, while President Putin claims he is engaging in good faith in peace talks.
Since rejecting Ukraine’s offer of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on 11 March, Russia has killed over 1,850 Ukrainian civilians. And since peace talks began in May, Russia has launched the largest air attacks of the entire war.
These are not the actions of a country sincerely interested – as President Putin claimed in August – in paving a path towards peace.
The UN has reported this year that an estimated 12.7 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian support. Russia’s strikes not only directly kill civilians, but worsen a dire humanitarian crisis.
Since the start of October, Russia has launched nine mass air attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, reducing Ukraine’s energy production capacity by 40% and causing nationwide blackouts lasting up to 16 hours a day. This is a deliberate weaponisation of winter, plunging homes into freezing darkness and putting millions of vulnerable Ukrainian civilians at risk.
We support President Trump and President Zelenskyy’s efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. How many more civilians have to die before Russia accepts a ceasefire?