Zelenskyy heads for talks with UK’s Starmer after Biden summit axed

LONDON — Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to the United Kingdom on Thursday for talks with Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as Ukraine continues to press allies for more military support in its fight against Russia.

It will be the Ukrainian president’s second visit to Starmer since the British PM took office in July.

The trip comes as Western powers mull whether to allow Ukraine to fire long-range weapons into Russia — and just after the postponement of a key summit at which Ukraine had been set to present a “victory plan.” Zelenskyy will also meet with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy in the same 24-hour period, his office said.

Starmer’s official spokesperson said Wednesday that the PM will be “reiterating the U.K.’s ironclad support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.”

NATO’s new Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also meet Starmer and Zelenskyy in London, Downing Street confirmed. It marks the first international trip in the role by Rutte, who stressed last week that Kyiv’s right to self-defense “does not end at the border.”

Allied countries had been scheduled to attend a key summit this weekend aimed at coordinating more military support for Ukraine, but the meet was canceled to allow U.S. President Joe Biden to focus on the domestic response to Hurricane Milton, which is currently bearing down on Florida.

At the end of a three-day trip to Germany, Biden had been due to chair a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a loose alliance of more than 50 countries known as the Ramstein Format, named after the air base where it is usually held.

“The October 12, 2024 event is postponed,” the U.S.-managed Ramstein Air Base said in an emailed note on Wednesday. “Announcements about future Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings will be forthcoming.”

Britain’s Starmer has tried to demonstrate his country’s staunch support for Ukraine since taking office.

Unlike in the U.S., both major parties in the U.K. have stressed their backing for Zelenskyy’s pushback against Russia, although a recent trip to Washington, D.C. by Starmer yielded no breakthrough on the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

Asked if the Downing Street trip meant a shift on the use of Storm Shadows is about to be confirmed, Starmer’s spokesperson said Wednesday there was no update to the U.K.’s position.

Joshua Posaner contributed reporting.