UK PM says Putin's response to Ukraine's ceasefire was insufficient, as Kyiv allies attempt to exert pressure on Russia.

 UK PM says Putin's response to Ukraine's ceasefire was insufficient, as Kyiv allies attempt to exert pressure on Russia.

On Saturday, Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain, holds a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room.

London

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 After hosting a virtual summit to garner support for Kiev and exert pressure on Russia, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin's response to a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine is "not good enough."

Starmer claimed that leaders had agreed that "the 'yes but' from Russia is not good enough" and that Russia would have to come to the negotiating table sooner or later after hosting a meeting of the "coalition of the willing," a group of Western nations that have pledged to assist in defending Ukraine against Russia. He continued, "We agreed that collective pressure will be put on Russia from all of us who were in the meeting this morning." Twenty-five nations attended the meeting on Saturday, including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as European nations.

Moscow's response to Kyiv's acceptance of the terms of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine this week was ambiguous, with Putin stating that "we agree with the proposal" but also that the deal "wasn't complete."

Additionally, Russia's advance in the Kursk border region, where it is attempting to reverse Ukraine's gains, coincides with the meeting at a pivotal point in the three-year conflict.

Starmer said that the militaries of Ukraine's allies will meet on Thursday in the United Kingdom to "put strong and robust plans in place" to keep the peace in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but he didn't give any new information.

“We will now move into an operational phase,” Starmer said.  "Our militaries will meet this Thursday in the United Kingdom to make solid plans to support a peace deal and ensure Ukraine's future security." Starmer stated that the allies of Ukraine agreed to "keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine, and keep tightening restrictions on Russia's economy, to weaken Putin's war machine and bring him to the table" during the discussions that took place on Saturday.

Starmer asserted that Ukraine "is the party of peace" and that Putin was delaying the US-backed ceasefire proposal that Ukraine agreed to this week. US President Donald Trump “has offered Putin the way forward to a lasting peace – now we must make this a reality,” Starmer said.

 Starmer stressed that the "position on the US hasn't changed" and that achieving peace in Ukraine "needs to be done in conjunction with the United States" in response to a journalist's inquiry regarding US support.

On Saturday, Starmer gives a speech at a press conference.

In his opening remarks to the "coalition of the willing," Starmer stated, "If Putin is serious about peace, it’s very simple: He has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire." This statement follows Starmer's earlier statement. He went on, "The entire world is watching. My feeling is that sooner or later he’s going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion.”

The "coalition of the willing," a group of people who have said they will help defend Ukraine from Russian aggression despite Washington's waning and unsure support, last met in London two weeks ago before meeting again online on Saturday. Despite the blows the Trump administration has dealt to the transatlantic alliance, Europe has shown a lot of unity. However, there are still big differences about whether or not individual European nations are willing to send troops to Ukraine to keep the peace.

According to a statement released by the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, who participated in the virtual summit on Saturday, does not anticipate Italy's involvement in a potential military presence in Ukraine. Without providing additional details, Trump stated on Friday that his administration had "very good calls" with both Russia and Ukraine earlier in the day and that he had received "pretty good news" regarding a potential ceasefire.

Trump wrote, "there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end" in a separate post on Truth Social.

On Thursday, Putin went to Moscow to meet with Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Putin's visit gave him "reason to be cautiously optimistic." With Kyiv losing its grip on the western Russian region of Kursk, its sole territorial bargaining chip, many believe that Putin may be delaying talks on the ceasefire proposal until the region is firmly back under Russian control.

 According to a statement made by the defense ministry on Saturday, Russian forces have retaken two additional settlements in Kursk—Zaoleshenka and Rubanshchina. The largest town Ukraine had occupied in the region, Sudzha, was retaken by Russia just a few days earlier.

Zelensky said Saturday his troops were holding back Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk and denied Russian claims that Ukraine’s army was surrounded.

 In the meantime, hundreds of drones crossed the border as part of the aerial assaults that continued. Russia fired 178 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people and injuring 44, according to Ukrainian officials.  The head of the region's military administration said the two were killed in the Kherson region after Russia attacked residential and critical infrastructure, destroying seven high-rise buildings and 27 homes.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that overnight, its air defenses had destroyed 126 Ukrainian drones, but it did not specify how many drones had evaded its defenses. Updates have been made to this story.