Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be allowed to \u201cplay games\u201d over the US-backed ceasefire proposal in Ukraine, Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said ahead of a key summit of European leaders. <\/p>\n
Starmer is hosting a meeting on Saturday of the \u201ccoalition of the willing,\u201d a group of Western nations who have pledged to help defend Ukraine from Russian aggression in the face of dwindling and uncertain support from Washington. <\/p>\n
After Kyiv this week accepted the terms of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine \u2013 endorsed by US President Donald Trump \u2013 Moscow\u2019s response was ambiguous, with Putin saying that \u201cwe agree with the proposal\u201d but also that the deal \u201cwasn\u2019t complete.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ahead of Saturday\u2019s virtual summit, Starmer accused Putin of \u201ctrying to delay\u201d the ceasefire deal, saying that \u201cthe world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump\u2019s deal. The Kremlin\u2019s complete disregard for President Trump\u2019s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Starmer is expected to press European and NATO allies during Saturday\u2019s talks to \u201cratchet up economic pressure on Russia\u201d and \u201cto force\u201d Putin into negotiations, according to a Downing Street statement. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the meeting of the \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d \u2013 an umbrella term Starmer has used for countries that want to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee peace after three years of war. <\/p>\n
The coalition spans 25 countries, including European nations, the EU Commission, NATO, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand. <\/p>\n
Starmer will call on allies to \u201cbe prepared to support a just and enduring peace in Ukraine over the long term and continue to ramp up our military support to Ukraine to defend themselves against increasing Russian attacks,\u201d Downing Street said. <\/p>\n
To achieve this, European nations must \u201cbe ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure\u201d peace lasts, Starmer said. <\/p>\n
Although Europe has shown considerable unity amid the blows the Trump administration has dealt to the transatlantic alliance, significant divisions remain over whether individual European countries are willing to deploy troops to Ukraine to keep the peace. <\/p>\n
Trump said Friday that he got \u201cpretty good news\u201d on a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, without elaborating, and that his administration had \u201cvery good calls\u201d with both countries earlier in the day. <\/p>\n
In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump said \u201cthere is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said in an interview taped Thursday that his administration would know a \u201clittle bit more on Monday\u201d about the US-proposed temporary ceasefire. <\/p>\n
Putin met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday in Moscow \u2013 a visit that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said gave \u201creason to be cautiously optimistic.\u201d <\/p>\n
With Kyiv losing its grip on the western Russian region of Kursk, its sole territorial bargaining chip, many believe that Putin may be delaying talks on the ceasefire proposal until the region is firmly back under Russian control. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile the aerial assaults continued. <\/p>\n
Russia fired 178 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people and injuring 44, according to Ukrainian officials. The two were killed in Kherson region, the head of its military administration said, after Russia targeted critical infrastructure and residential buildings, damaging seven high-rise buildings and 27 houses. <\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones overnight, without saying how many drones bypassed its defenses. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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