UK and Allies Ready to Support Ukraine Amidst Ongoing War
PARIS — The UK and its allies stand ready to support Ukraine before negotiations to end the war as well as to secure an eventual peace deal, the UK defence secretary says.
Ahead of a top-level meeting in Paris on Thursday, John Healey told the BBC in Kyiv that Ukraine’s allies would “help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land”, once a peace deal had been struck.
He was speaking after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin conveyed a defiant message from China, vowing that his full-scale invasion could continue.
Healey suggested there was bluster in Putin’s words, insisting that Russia was under pressure. He also praised US President Donald Trump who he said had “brought Putin into talks” and “not closed off any options”, despite widespread criticism of the warm welcome Trump gave the Russian leader last month in Alaska.
Putin’s Defiant Stance Amidst Calls for Peace
As late as Tuesday, Trump said he was “disappointed” in Putin, but he has said that before. He has also threatened to punish the Russian leader for the apparent refusal to end the war — or even meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.
When asked on Wednesday whether the war in Ukraine could end soon, Putin said “there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel”.
“It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict,” he said, before threatening: “If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily.”
Coalition of the Willing Ready to Act
On Thursday, Macron will host a meeting of that so-called Coalition of the Willing — a grouping of allies of Ukraine, committed to enforcing any peace deal.
A source at the Élysée, Macron’s office, has said the group are now ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, only waiting for US confirmation that it will act as the ultimate backstop.
The proposed deal includes continuing to train and supply Ukraine’s own army.
It also envisages European troops being deployed to Ukraine — in unspecified numbers — to deter any future to Russian aggression — a signal that Ukraine can count on its allies “full solidarity and… commitment”, the Élysée source said.
Escalating Violence and Devastating Impact on Civilians
As usual, the government did not say whether any military targets were hit, but the impact for civilians is often devastating.
Last week, a Russian missile hit a block of flats in Kyiv killing 22 people, including four children, in one of the deadliest strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
There is now a heap of stuffed toys in the ruins, and photographs.
From shattered stairways, residents emerge with potted plants and bags of clothes covered in dust that somehow survived the strike. A few steps away, others stand and stare at the wreckage.
A teenage girl said she had left the bomb shelter that morning because it filled with smoke after the first missile hit. Then a second landed across the road and her sister was killed.
