Zelenskyy wants US to remain involved in peace process as he walks the delicate line with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the war-torn nation wants the United States to stay involved in the peace efforts in the war against Russia. The remarks from Zelenskyy came after he met with Western allies in London, where US President Donald Trump was absent.

During the meeting, the Ukrainian leader chose not to overtly lobby for the supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles. The meeting was attended by 20 mainly European leaders who are part of the “coalition of the willing". Zelenskyy instead emphasised the need for the West to work together.

“We are not finding and searching how to stop Putin and how to finish this work without the US,” Zelenskyy emphasised at the end of the hybrid meeting aimed at discussing how to step up pressure on the Russian leader ahead of winter. The Ukrainian leader also noted that when it came to post-war security guarantees for his country, “we need to have the United States”.

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He warned that “Putin wants to divide us”, emphasising that while Trump had declined to greenlight the supply of Tomahawks, western nations had previously “evolved together” by providing Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles, followed by US Atacms.

Starmer put forward Ukraine’s case

Earlier, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the meeting that he believed “there’s further we can do on capability, particularly … long-range capability”, which reflected that the United Kingdom wants Ukraine’s allies to supply long-range missiles and help Kyiv strike Russian targets deep behind the frontline.

Just this very week, Ukraine used a British Storm Shadow missile to bomb a Russian plant in Bryansk that produced explosives and rocket fuel. However, the US has so far declined to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles, a proposal that has also prompted concern in Moscow.

During the meeting, Zelenskyy said that Russia was trying to cause a “humanitarian disaster” this winter, adding: “We’re thankful to you that we are not alone in this situation – from the very beginning of the war, but especially now, it’s very important.” Earlier, the Ukrainian leader visited the UK’s monarch, King Charles, at Windsor before heading to Downing Street for a one-on-one meeting with Starmer.

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Some of the other leaders who attended the meeting included Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, and Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands. The remainder participated online.

It is pertinent to note that the meeting came a day after the EU leaders failed to make a firm decision on whether to use €140bn (£120bn) frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine’s defence, while the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy remains delicate.