ZEL'S ARMY PLEA

Ukraine says the 'old days' of trust are over | Starmer is to meet Trump for talks next week

- MIKEY SMITH

VOLODYMYR Zelensky is urging Europe to raise its own army, warning that the continent cannot rely on the US for its defence.

As G7 foreign ministers yesterday agreed to keep pursuing a strong peace deal for Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed he would travel to New York to meet US President Donald Trump next week.

Mr Trump announced this week he will hold talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia.

He will send senior officials including national security adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Riyadh in the coming days. UK officials believe that Mr Starmer's meeting with Trump could be key to determining the direction those talks take.

But Mr Zelensky swore: "Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement."

It comes as Ukraine's president told the Munich Security Conference, where G7 leaders including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey gathered over the weekend, that the "old days" of guaranteed US support "were over".

Mr Zelensky said: "We can't rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it."

He warned that "some in Europe may not fully understand what's happening in Washington right now" and urged "giving strength to Europe first".