Starmer joins world leaders in Ukraine to call for ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer, President Macron and Friedrich Merz held a meeting on the train to Kyiv

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Ukraine where he will join fellow world leaders to put pressure on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in the war.

Sir Keir travelled by train with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz, who is making his first trip to Ukraine since becoming Germany’s chancellor this week.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is joining them in Kyiv. It is Sir Keir’s second visit to Ukraine as prime minister.

He and the other leaders are using the visit to urge Russia to “agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire” – a proposal initially made by US President Donald Trump.

The leaders’ decision to travel to Kyiv together is a deliberately symbolic response to the more than 20 leaders who joined President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for Russia’s Victory Day commemorations on Friday.

The leaders also vowed to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine”.

On Saturday morning, they visited Kyiv’s Independence Square to pay their respects to the Ukrainian soldiers killed in action since Russia’s full-scale invasion began more than three years ago.

The four leaders will join President Volodymyr Zelensky for a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – the group of around 30 mainly European nations seeking ways to entrench Ukraine’s security if a peace deal with Russia is agreed.

In a statement released before their arrival, the leaders said: “We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.

“We are ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal.