Starmer speaks to Zelensky days before meeting of military leaders

Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the citizens of Bucha on the third anniversary of the city’s liberation in a call with Volodymyr Zelensky days before a meeting of military chiefs to discuss peacekeeping plans for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister reflected on the “courage and strength” of residents, whose stories he said were a “painful reminder of Russia’s barbarity” in a conversation on Monday evening.

The Kremlin’s forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and stayed for about a month until their withdrawal during the Kyiv offensive in March that year.

More than 1,400 civilian deaths, including 37 children, were documented in the Bucha district by Ukrainian authorities and more than 175 people found in mass graves and alleged torture chambers.

Sir Keir also told the Ukrainian president that a meeting of top brass from Britain, France and Ukraine “in the coming days” will “drive forward the next stage of detailed planning” to protect Kyiv’s security, Downing Street said.

Military leaders from the three countries are expected to head to Ukraine to discuss plans for a force to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking again if a deal is reached to end the war.

It comes after European allies agreed to step up plans to deploy troops to secure any peace deal at a summit in Paris last week where the Prime Minister accused the Russian leader of “playing games” in US-initiated peace talks.

In a readout of the call between the two leaders, a Number 10 spokesperson said: “The leaders reflected on their visit to Paris last week and agreed there was real momentum to support Ukraine’s security for the long term.

“A meeting of the British, French and Ukrainian military leadership in the coming days would drive forward the next stage of detailed planning, the Prime Minister added.

“The leaders also discussed the third anniversary of the liberation of Bucha today. The Prime Minister reflected on his visit to the city in 2023 and paid tribute to the courage and strength of the residents and their loved ones that he met.

“Their stories of suffering were a painful reminder of Russia’s barbarity over the past three years, he added.

“The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.”

The Prime Minister also spoke to Donald Trump on Sunday night to agree on the need to “keep up the collective pressure on Putin” after the US president said he was “pissed off” with his Russian counterpart for questioning the credibility of Mr Zelensky.

Mr Trump, who has previously called the Ukrainian president a dictator, suggested he was considering putting “secondary sanctions” on Russian oil in an interview with NBC News.