The UK will continue to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia, the Deputy Prime Minister signalled after Donald Trump claimed he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war.
Britain’s support for Ukraine remains “steadfast”, Angela Rayner said amid the US president’s moves to draw the conflict to an end.
Mr Trump said he had agreed with Russia’s leader to “work together, very closely” on bringing the three-year conflict to an end in a phone conversation on Wednesday.
Speaking to ITV’s Peston, the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government and “the whole of Parliament” were united in support for Kyiv, when asked about the US president’s claims.
“We’ll continue to support Ukraine, and… the Prime Minister was very clear when he answered that question earlier today in the House,” she added.
Defence Secretary John Healey had earlier said welcoming Ukraine into Nato will take “some time”, and the focus “for now” should be on ensuring Kyiv is in a strong position going into any potential peace talks, after the US insisted the country’s membership of the military alliance was not a realistic prospect.
Giving a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of defence leaders from countries across the world, Mr Healey said that Ukraine’s “rightful place” was within Nato, which the country has been seeking to join for many years.
But he sought to play down splits between the UK and Washington, despite US defence secretary Pete Hegseth appearing to rule out membership for the country as a way of guaranteeing its security.
It will be a major blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as admission of new countries to the alliance requires unanimous agreement by existing members.
Mr Trump’s call with the Russian president came just hours after Mr Zelensky warned “Putin is not preparing for peace” and called for unity from Ukraine’s allies.
Mr Healey joined more than 50 defence allies from across the world, including from France, Germany and the US, at Nato’s headquarters in the Belgian capital, where he chaired the 26th Ukraine Defence Contact Group summit.
Addressing defence ministers at the meeting, Mr Hegseth indicated that Washington is intent on getting Europe to carry most of the financial and military burden of defending Ukraine.
He also appeared to rule out deploying US peacekeeping troops in the event of a potential ceasefire, and suggested any soldiers from other countries should be sent as a non-Nato mission without Article Five protections.
The alliance’s Article Five says that an armed attack on one member of the military bloc is considered an attack on all.
Elsewhere, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage signalled his support for Ukraine joining Nato, describing the move as “essential”.
Mr Farage previously came under fire for having claimed Nato and the EU had “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the West expanded its influence into post-Soviet states.
