Zelenskyy reiterates 'gratitude' to US after disastrous Trump meeting and UK summit

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared a video showing damage caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past few days.

He says Ukraine is fighting for the "normal and safe life it deserves" and "for a peace that is just and reliable".

"Those who want negotiations do not deliberately hit people with ballistic missiles," he says.

Ukraine's leader says that, in the past week, more than 1,050 strike drones, almost 1,300 aerial bombs and more than 20 missiles have been launched at Ukraine "to destroy cities and kill people".

Zelenskyy said that strengthening Kyiv's air defences, supporting its army and effective security guarantees will "make it impossible for Russian aggression to return".

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Defence and military spending has dominated the news cycle over the past week - and today it's dominating the markets.

Arms maker BAE Systems, up a massive 17.5% at one point today, is leading the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 stock index.

It's followed by defence firm Rolls-Royce Holdings, up nearly 6%.

The boost to weapons makers can be seen across Europe. The aerospace and defence companies of the pan-European Stoxx index saw the biggest daily jump since November 2020.

Leaders from across the continent backed Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his war against Russia over the weekend after a summit held by Sir Keir Starmer yesterday. 

EU leaders rallied to defend Ukraine after a brutal Friday evening showdown between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, vowing to provide support if US input decreases or come up with their own Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Likely boosting UK arms companies was Starmer's promise of a loan and delivery of Belfast-made missiles.

But it's the prospect of a peace deal that's likely pushed oil to the lowest price all year - $72.49 for a barrel of Brent crude.

Despite a busy weekend of diplomacy between Ukraine and its European allies, not much has really changed for Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

That's according to security and defence editor Deborah Haynes, who says Sir Keir Starmer and Europe's leaders "need to prove they're serious" with actions and not just words.

"Nothing's really changed, let's face it," says Haynes.

"We haven't heard from Donald Trump specifically about all of this European fanfare. Nothing really works unless Trump says yes.

"If Trump doesn't back what Starmer and Macron are proposing, then the European peace plan looks pretty feeble given the European military relies so heavily on America's far more powerful armed forces."

"With all this language, and given the severity of the situation and the Prime Minister and other leaders across Europe say they're going to get serious - they now need to show that they are with some action."

We've been getting some lines from the Kremlin, where reaction to the past few days of diplomacy is on the agenda.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the public White House clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed how difficult it will be to reach a settlement to the war.

He said European leaders would need to "make a lot of effort" with Washington to wash away the "unpleasant residue" of Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump. 

Analysts say the public spat has played perfectly into the hands of Moscow, which is working to discredit Zelenskyy and undermine his legitimacy.

The reaction to the Oval Office shouting match in Russia supports this.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Zelenskyy had received a "solid slap" in Washington, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a miracle Trump and JD Vance had restrained themselves from hitting the Ukrainian. 

London summit 'helping war to continue'

Peskov also said pledges made by European leaders at yesterday's London summit to increase funding to Kyiv will not bring about a peaceful end to the conflict.

He said the results of the summit - including a £1.6bn air-defence missiles deal from Britain - will allow hostilities to continue, adding it was critical that Zelenskyy be forced to change his position and seek peace. 

"This clearly does not relate to a peace plan", but will allow for "the continuation of hostilities", he said.

"Any constructive initiatives (for peace) will be in demand now. It's very important that someone forces Zelenskyy himself to change his position. He doesn't want peace. Someone must make Zelenskyy want peace."

The new UK ambassador to the US caused a bit of a stir last night when he appeared to contradict government policy by saying Ukraine "should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow".

Lord Mandelson also called on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign the minerals deal with the US, which was not signed after the extraordinary row in the Oval Office ahead of the ceremony.

Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast this morning, Luke Pollard reacted to Mandelson's comments, saying: "That's not government policy."

He also said the Ukrainians want peace "the most", but there are still ongoing discussions about the "shape" of what a potential peace deal could look like.

"But it's certainly right that the war could stop tomorrow if President Putin stopped his illegal and unprovoked aggression," Pollard added.

"So what we need to find is a formula that allows a peace that is lasting and durable to be created and then to be defended because we need to defend his peace."

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The use of the term "coalition of the willing" to describe the nations that agree to support an international force to help protect any ceasefire deal in Ukraine is interesting and notable.

It could perhaps be an attempt by Sir Keir Starmer to appeal to an American audience, as this was the phrase the United States used for its "coalition of the willing" to invade Iraq more than two decades ago.

That intervention ended in disaster, triggering a bloody insurgency and locking the US and its allies into a costly war, despite the successful toppling of Saddam Hussein.

But reviving the words "coalition of the willing" will - if nothing else - remind Washington that London was its biggest and strongest backer when it turned to allies to back its 2003 invasion.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war with Russia.

Announced during a summit of world leaders in London yesterday, Starmer said the UK, France and other countries will step up their efforts in a "coalition of the willing".

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting of leaders, Starmer said four points had been agreed:

• to keep military aid flowing and keep increasing economic pressure on Russia
• any lasting pace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the table for peace talks
• in the event of a peace deal, to boost Ukraine's defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion
• to go further to develop a "coalition of the willing" to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace

Starmer did not state which countries had agreed to join the coalition, but said those who had committed would intensify planning with real urgency.

He said the UK would back its commitment with "boots on the ground, and planes in the air".

Watch: UK to defend Ukraine peace deal

Extra £1.6bn for Ukraine

Elsewhere in the news conference, Sir Keir announced a new deal which will allow Ukraine to use £1.6bn of UK export finance to buy 5,000 more air defence missiles.

The prime minister said the move will create jobs in the UK's defence sector and would also be "vital for protecting critical infrastructure and strengthen Ukraine".

It comes on top of the UK announcing that it would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, from the current 2.3%.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced that the UK would give Ukraine an extra £2.26bn for its war effort, funded by the profits made from hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Russian sovereign assets.

The French foreign minister has suggested a one-month truce in Ukraine would show if Vladimir Putin was acting in good faith.

Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that France and Britain are proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine that would cover air, sea and energy infrastructure attacks but not ground fighting.

Speaking on RTL Radio, Jean-Noel Barrot said a pause would show if Putin was acting in good faith and if he would be willing to start negotiations in earnest on a longer-term peace deal.

Zelenskyy didn't offer any suggestion if he would accept the proposal, but said he was "aware of everything" when asked about it.

Under the Franco-British idea, European ground troops would only be deployed to Ukraine in a second phase, Macron said.

"There will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks," Le Figaro quoted Macron as saying.

"The question is how we use this time to try to obtain a truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a [troop] deployment."

As much of the international attention on Ukraine is centred around Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his diplomacy with world leaders, let's bring you some news from the war itself.

The mayor of Kharkiv says a Russian drone attack has injured eight people, including a seven-year-old child.

Posting on Telegram, Ihor Terekhov says drones hit a multi-storey building late last night, leaving three homes damaged.

Among those injured were a seven-year-old boy and an 80-year-old man, Terekhov added.