Zelensky Meets with British PM Keir Starmer Ahead of EU Defense Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the United Kingdom on Saturday for a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the Ukrainian leader looks to ensure European support following a testy exchange in the White House just one day ago.

The 90-minute meeting between the two leaders, which Zelensky called “meaningful and warm,” focused on problems Ukraine still faces in its now-three-year war with Russia, steps to strengthen Ukraine, and ending the conflict with a “just peace” and “robust” security guarantees, the Ukrainian president posted on X.

It also included a nearly $3 billion loan agreement between the two countries to support Ukraine’s military and rebuilding costs after the war, which will be repaid through frozen Russian assets.

Starmer also emphasized to Zelensky in the meeting that Ukraine has the “full backing” of the U.K. “for as long as it may take” to achieve a “lasting peace for Ukraine, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine.”

The two leaders’ meeting comes after Zelensky clashed with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, leading to a key minerals deal between the two countries falling through.

Despite the increased tensions, Starmer, who was at the White House on Thursday, confirmed that a defense summit of international leaders in London is still set for Sunday. Those talks will focus on the Russia-Ukraine war and a peace plan for Ukraine.