In a bold action, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reasserted the United Kingdom’s pledge to provide “robust and credible” security assurances intended to deter further Russian attacks on Ukraine. The statement is made as Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet signed off on a US-brokered ceasefire offer, while fighting continues to intensify on the battlefield.
In a virtual summit with 25 European Union leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Starmer pointed out the need to improve the defense strength of Ukraine. “We will strengthen Ukraine’s own forces and armed forces and be prepared to deploy as a ‘coalition of the willing’ in the case of a peace agreement to assist in defending Ukraine on land, at sea, and in the air,” he declared.
The talks came after Putin’s reluctant acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire suggested by Washington, which Ukraine has already agreed to. But Putin expressed concern over the enforcement of the ceasefire and the possibility of the mobilization of extra forces by Ukraine during this lull, particularly because Russia seems to be gaining grounds in Kursk’s western district.
In the midst of these events, it is unclear whether Putin’s reaction indicates a sincere search for peace or is a tactical ploy to extend hostilities without flatly rejecting the American offer. The tactics of the Kremlin have attracted attention, particularly given President Trump’s evolving attitude toward US foreign policy that has strained old alliances.
Starmer criticized the Kremlin delay, saying, “The Kremlin’s dithering and delay over President Trump’s ceasefire offer and Russia’s ongoing brutal bombing of Ukraine go completely against President Putin’s own professed commitment to peace.”
After the summit, Zelenskyy pressed Western partners to make it clear whether they would provide security guarantees, recommending the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory. “The force should be deployed on the territory of Ukraine. This is a security guarantee for Ukraine and a security guarantee for Europe,” he stated on social media.
With the war ongoing, news reports Russian forces closing in on driving out Ukrainian soldiers from Kursk, with Trump issuing a threat of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers being “completely surrounded.” As a counterpoint, Zelenskyy insisted that the Ukrainian forces were not surrounded but confirmed the accumulation of Russian soldiers in the area.
The situation is still fluid, especially around the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk, where Zelenskyy said there was stabilization and successful employment of a new domestically made long-range missile.
In a wider perspective, both Ukraine and Russia have been involved in fierce air battles, with each reporting to have shot down scores of enemy drones. There has also been a recent drone attack that caused a fire at an oil plant in Russia’s Volgograd area, with the Russian Defence Ministry claiming 126 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in several regions.
