The UK and its allies are prepared to back Ukraine before negotiations to end the war and secure an eventual peace deal, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.
Speaking in Kyiv on the eve of a high-level meeting in Paris, Healey said that Ukraine’s partners would be ready to “help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land” once a peace agreement is reached.
His remarks came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Beijing, issued a defiant warning that his full-scale invasion of Ukraine could continue if negotiations fail.
Despite widespread criticism of his warm reception for Putin in Alaska last month, US President Donald Trump was praised by Healey for “bringing Putin into talks” and “not closing off any options.” Trump himself said on Tuesday he was “disappointed” in the Russian leader but has repeated similar sentiments before, while threatening unspecified punishments should Putin refuse to engage with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
When asked on Wednesday about prospects for ending the conflict, Putin struck a mixed tone. “There is a certain light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, before warning: “If common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution. If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily.”
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He went on to reiterate Russia’s maximalist demands, including an end to what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians in Ukraine—one of the justifications Moscow cited for its invasion in February 2022.
As for meeting Zelensky directly, Putin appeared dismissive. “I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let’s see,” he said, suggesting Zelensky could travel to Moscow—an “unacceptable” idea, Ukraine’s foreign minister quickly noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned that Putin was “playing” Trump, exploiting divisions among Ukraine’s allies. But Healey stressed that Western support remains firm.
“We in the Coalition of the Willing are prepared to put extra economic pressure on Putin and increase aid to Ukraine,” he said. “That’s why today we’ve passed £1bn ($1.24bn) of seized Russian assets, recycled into military aid and equipment—Putin’s dirty money returned with interest.”