BBC:
The UK and its allies stand ready to support Ukraine before negotiations to end the war as well as to secure an eventual peace deal, the UK defence secretary says.
On the eve of a top-level meeting in Paris, John Healey told the BBC in Kyiv that Ukraine’s allies would “help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land”, once a peace deal had been struck.
But moments earlier, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had conveyed a defiant message from China, vowing that his full-scale invasion could continue.
Healey suggested there was bluster in Putin’s words, insisting that Russia was under pressure. He also praised US President Donald Trump who he said had “brought Putin into talks” and “not closed off any options”, despite widespread criticism of the warm welcome Trump gave the Russian leader last month in Alaska.
As late as Tuesday, Trump said he was “disappointed” in Putin, but he has said that before. He has also threatened to punish the Russian leader for the apparent refusal to end the war – or even meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.
When asked on Wednesday whether the war in Ukraine could end soon, Putin said “there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel”.
“It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict,” he said, before threatening: “If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily.”
He went on to list Russia’s maximalist demands as usual – including for the authorities in Kyiv to end what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians – one of the allegations mentioned as a pretext for the full-scale invasion of the neighbour he launched in February 2022.
As for meeting Zelensky, Putin seemed to mock the very idea – which Trump had said he was ready for.
“I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let’s see,” Putin said in Beijing.
Zelensky could always go to Moscow to see him, he said – a “knowingly unacceptable” idea, Ukraine’s foreign minister was quick to point out.
Last week, France’s President Emmanuel Macron suggested Putin was “playing” Trump.
But John Healey stressed that the US president “has not ruled out any further action, including economic measures, to put more pressure on Putin”.
“We in the Coalition of the Willing, nations like the UK are willing to put extra economic pressure on Putin. We’re willing to give extra aid to Ukraine so they can keep in the fight.
“It’s why we’ve passed today £1bn ($1.24bn) of seized Russian assets, recycled into military aid and kit to Ukraine. If you like, Putin’s dirty money returned with interest.”
