PM calls for 'coalition of the willing' to end Ukraine war

We are at crossroads of history, Starmer says after London summit • Von der Leyen to unveil plan this week to 'urgently rearm Europe'

- Kiran Stacey Pippa Crerar Peter Walker

Europe was "at a crossroads in history" and must act to support Ukraine to secure a lasting peace, Keir Starmer said yesterday as he confirmed the UK and France would lead a "coalition of the willing" to help end the fighting.

After a crucial defence summit in London, Starmer said any plan for a lasting ceasefire would have to be "delivered together" with the US to provide a deterrence to Russia, as he continued attempts to repair frayed ties between Kyiv and Washington.

Starmer announced a deal that would allow Ukraine to use £1.6bn of export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, to be made by Thales in Belfast and therefore creating jobs, as part of the government's plan to boost growth.

The prime minister spent 48 hours engaged in intense diplomacy after Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's disastrous White House meeting on Friday, during which the Ukrainian president was berated on camera by the US president and his deputy, JD Vance.

Writing on his social media accounts after the London summit, Zelenskyy acknowledged "the strong support for Ukraine and our people." He said that European leaders were working together to create "a reliable basis for cooperation with America for the sake of real peace and guaranteed security." He also expressed his thanks to "all our friends and partners" to their support.

The defence summit, which brought together major European powers as well as Canada and Turkey, was intended to develop a united European response to the shift in the transatlantic consensus towards Ukraine, but it took on a new urgency after the diplomatic clash.

The summit took place in the grand surroundings of Lancaster House in London, surrounded by a ring of proUkraine protesters.