Ukraine’s chief Zelensky to make ‘historic’ deal with to Keir Starmer’s Cabinet

Keir Starmer is set to host Ukraine’s wartime leader at a “historic” meeting of the new Labour Government’s Cabinet on Friday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with King Charles today, will be the first official visitor to No10 since Labour’s landslide General Election victory. It comes after the PM rallied support for Ukraine and warned against the threat of Putin’s Russia reaching “right across Europe” at a major summit.

Speaking as he hosted the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace – the birthplace of Winston Churchill – he vowed to stand by Ukraine for “as long as it takes”. He also used the meeting with 47 European leaders to renew strained relations with “friends and partners” after years of bitter Brexit talks in order to tackle the small boats crisis.

Closing the summit at a press conference, Mr Starmer left open the possibility of the UK processing migrants offshore. But he also abandoned Tory threats to quit the European Convention on Human Rights over the now-scrapped Rwanda deportation scheme.

Sitting alongside Ukraine’s leader Zelensky at the start of the summit, the PM said: “Everyday Ukraine fights to protect not just the Ukrainian people but the European people.

“The continent where our belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, was hard won and wants to live in peace. President Zelenskyy, in your struggle to uphold those values, we salute you once again. Have no doubt we will stand with you for as long as it takes.

He added: “The threat from Russia reaches right across Europe. Many of us have seen attacks on our own democracy. People targeted on our streets, military planes entering our airspace, ships patrolling our coastlines and Moldova, the western Balkans, the threat is obviously even more acute. So this is the moment for all of us to do more.”

Mr Zelensky also told the summit: “Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, the UK has been one step ahead in its determination to support Ukraine. This is the kind of resolve we need to stop Russian terror.”

The Ukrainian leader will on Friday become the first foreign leader to address the British Cabinet in person since the former US President Bill Clinton in 1997. Ahead of the extraordinary meeting, Mr Starmer said: “Ukraine is, and always will be, at the heart of this government’s agenda and so it is only fitting that President Zelensky will make a historic address to my Cabinet.

“Russia’s incremental gains on the battlefield are nothing compared with the collective international support for Ukraine, or the strength of ties between our people.

“And alongside our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin’s attempts to evade sanctions: we will not allow Russia’s shadow fleet, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk.”

At the EPC summit European leaders agreed to target Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers seeking to evade sanctions on Russian oil. Downing Street said the fleet is made up of around 600 vessels and carries 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, providing funds for Moscow’s war effort.