Zelensky to visit UK ahead of Nato summit as Russian bombardment continues
The Ukrainian president said he expected to discuss his country's defences and new ways to increase pressure on Russia ahead of a Nato summit that starts on Tuesday.
His arrival in the UK follows reports that Russia fired 352 drones and 16 missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least 10 civilians including seven in Kyiv.
Mr Zelensky said preliminary reports indicated Russia had used North Korean missiles to attack Kyiv and described those two countries, and Iran, as a 'coalition of murderers'.
His visit to London comes the day before Nato leaders are set to meet in The Hague for a two-day summit, with increased defence spending top of the agenda.
Mr Zelensky has been invited to the summit but will not take part in its main discussions, and it is still unclear whether he will attend at all.
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The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Zelenskyy calls Russia, Iran and North Korea a ‘coalition of murderers'
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia, Iran and North Korea as a 'coalition of murderers' during a visit to London in which he held talks with Keir Starmer on defence cooperation and how to put further pressure on Moscow. Ukraine's president arrived in the UK on Monday, hours after the Kremlin launched another big air raid on Kyiv. It involved 352 drones – half of them were Iranian-designed Shaheds - and North Korean ballistic missiles in what Zelenskyy called 'a completely cynical strike'. At least 10 people were killed and five civilian apartment blocks badly damaged. 'A large number of drones and missiles were shot down by our air defenders — but not all,' Zelenskyy posted on social media. 'Everyone in countries neighbouring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be thinking carefully about whether they could protect lives if this coalition of murderers persists and continues spreading their terror.' Zelenskyy has supported Donald Trump's missile strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and has accused Tehran of complicity in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons arsenal in the 1990s in exchange for US, British and Russian security guarantees. These failed, however, to prevent Vladimir Putin's 2022 attack. Zelenskyy's latest trip to the UK was to discuss how to compel Russia to stop its war, Ukrainian officials said. His previous visit in March followed a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of 'gambling with world war three' and the US vice-president, JD Vance, berated him for supposed ingratitude. Monday's discussions encompassed sanctions and the Trump administration, which has so far refused to punish Russia and has practically ended US weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Ukraine has been attempting to keep Washington onside diplomatically, despite its apparent pivot to Moscow. 'We will be negotiating new and powerful steps to increase pressure on Russia for this war and to put an end to the strikes,' Zelenskyy said of his London trip. As well as talks with Starmer, he met King Charles at Windsor castle and visited Ukrainian soldiers receiving military training in the UK. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Zelenskyy is likely to travel to this week's two-day Nato summit in The Hague and is scheduled to meet the alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte. It is unclear if he will have a face-to-face meeting with Trump, who is expected to arrive on Tuesday and push for greater defence spending from Nato member states. Since Trump's return to the White House in January, Russia has dramatically stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine. It has refused Zelenskyy's offer of a 30-day ceasefire and continues to target civilians. Monday's strikes hit a residential area, hospitals and sports infrastructure. The most severe damage was in Shevchenkivskyi district, where a section of a five-storey apartment building collapsed. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said six people had been killed in the district. Ten others, including a pregnant woman, were rescued from a nearby high-rise that also sustained heavy damage. Oleksii Pozychaniuk, 29, who lives in the building next to the one struck, said he heard the whistle of a rocket approaching and 'froze in terror' before feeling the impact. 'Windows blew out, glass was flying everywhere,' he told the Associated Press. 'We barely made it downstairs with my child. Everything here was on fire.'
BBC News
37 minutes ago
- BBC News
Could this be the most significant Nato since the Cold War?
As the world holds its breath to see what happens next after the US launched direct attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, US President Donald Trump is expected in the Netherlands on Tuesday for a Nato will be Trump's first Nato meeting since being re-elected. In the past, he's made angry comments about alliance members freeloading off US security guarantees. European allies are desperate to prove him wrong. They hope to persuade him not to pull troops or US capabilities out of the continent."Relations with Europe have been so strained since Trump returned to the White House - over trade tariffs and more - that a few weeks ago, we weren't even sure he'd turn up to this summit," one high level diplomat - who spoke on condition of anonymity - told me."With Russia and China watching for western weakness, that would have been a disaster."But Moscow and Beijing may yet be able to bring out the popcorn. Nato's secretary general Mark Rutte designed this summit around Trump. He aimed to flatter him by agreeing massive hikes in defence spending, to show that Europeans would now take more responsibility for their own also hoped that by keeping the meeting narrowly focused on money, he'd avoid any potential clashes or outbursts between Trump and his carefully-laid plan could be on Iran's next move, the US commander-in-chief may decide at the last minute to remain in the Situation Room in he does come to Europe, as expected, how will it be possible not to talk about the Middle East considering what's at stake? That would introduce the risk of a fallout between the US President and European allies, who advocated diplomacy over bombing when it came to Iran. Trump loves a win and he's very thin-skinned. He won't want to feel any disapproval at the Nato he'd been assured of a headline-grabbing victory at the summit, with European countries committing to spending a whopping 5% of GDP on defence - exactly as he demanded in his first weeks back in the White House."This summit is about credibility," is how the US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, puts Spain claimed on Sunday that it had secured an opt-out from the new spending plan - something Rutte later allies in Europe that are struggling to find the extra cash are bristling bottom line is: Europe needs to keep big military and nuclear power US onside. That's how Rutte managed to corral reluctant leaders - bar Spain - into signing up to the new big spending push. It's a massive as the former US ambassador to Nato, Julianne Smith, told me - even then, there are absolutely no guarantees with Trump. It's unclear if the US would sign up to an end-of-summit declaration this week identifying Russia as the main threat to the Nato trust in the US as its ultimate protector has been shaken by Trump's seemingly softly-softly approach with Moscow, and by his heavy-handed pressure on Kyiv, as he's tried to end the war in on Friday night, you could almost hear European diplomats grinding their teeth, after Trump blithely justified the enormous 5% defence spending target he's demanded of allies, while exempting himself and the US from the commitment."I don't think we should, but I think they should," he said. "We've been supporting Nato so long… So I don't think we should, but I think that the Nato countries should, absolutely."Then again, Europe's leaders arguably should have been better prepared by now in terms of may be the bluntest and most unpredictable, but Trump is by no means the first US president to want to move military attention and investment from Europe to other priority areas, particularly the Indo-Pacific. President Obama was very clear about that back in 2011. The US has nuclear weapons stored in Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It has 100,000 battle-ready troops stationed across Europe, 20,000 of them in Eastern European Nato countries, sent there by President Biden after Russia's full-scale invasion of continent could make up a shortfall in troop numbers, especially with Germany and Poland planning to significantly build up their ground forces over the next few years. But Europe's dependency on the US goes deeper, says Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of the Royal United Services has relied on Washington for intelligence gathering, surveillance, air force capabilities and command and control. The US has performed a pivotal leadership role in Nato, bringing its members and forces are exactly the capabilities that are scarce and needed by the US military in Asia, says Mr Chalmers. If removed from Europe, they'd take a very long time to long ago, many Nato countries in Europe avoided building up continental capabilities, such as extending France's nuclear umbrella to other allies, for fear the US might say: "Oh well, you no longer need us. We're off!"But now, Europe is being forced to shoulder more security responsibility, not only to try to persuade Washington to stay - but also in case the US president decides to withdraw from Europe to a greater or lesser extent. No one knows what Trump's intentions are. Europe's Nato leaders were hugely relieved recently, when his administration announced that US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich would assume the traditionally US-occupied Nato position of Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. That implied commitment to the defence Washington is carrying out its own military spending and defence review. Announcements are expected in autumn. It's thought unlikely there'll be any new US funding for Ukraine. And very likely that the 20,000 extra troops in eastern Europe will be the first US forces to be pulled out of the this, Poland says it will attend this week's Nato summit in a confident mood. In stark contrast to Spain, Warsaw believes it's leading by example - spending more of its national income on defence (currently 4.7% of GDP) than any other Nato member, including the US. It aims, it says, to build the most powerful land army in the Cold War, Poland lived under the shadow of the Soviet Union. The country neighbours Ukraine. It's not hard to persuade Poles that defence is a top politicians in countries further away from Russia, the argument is more challenging. Spanish media has been full of speculation that disagreements over defence spending could topple the country's precarious coalition government. Trying to both placate Trump by agreeing to his defence spending demands, while also sweetening the pill for more cash-strapped European leaders, Nato is proposing to split the 5% target into two parts: 3.5% of annual national income on defence, with a further 1.5% of GDP to be spent on "defence-related" issues, like expanding cargo sea ports in the Netherlands, for example, or France investing in cyber has the added bonus of bringing Europe into line with US military spending of 3.4% of GDP - a huge psychological landmark, says Camille Grand, former Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at Nato and now defence expert at the European Council of Foreign however you play with the figures, we're talking about governments having to spend billions more on defence. The money has to come from new taxes - a method Estonia has been trying out - or more borrowing, which will be hugely expensive for countries like Italy that already have large amounts of government debt. Another option is a reduction in welfare spending - known as "guns or butter," or "tanks or pensions" its Strategic Defence Review, the UK recently stressed to the public the need for more military spending, but Mr Chalmers says neither Downing Street nor most other European governments have fully prepared their electorates for the trade-offs that huge new defence investments will timetable for reaching the 5% target is key. Nato allies have called for a 7-10 year window. Nato's Secretary General has suggested that could be too late. With Moscow's economy very much on a war footing, Russia will be able to attack a Nato country within five years, he says. Defending Europe isn't just about how much governments spend. As important is what they spend their money on.A big European weakness is that there are lots of duplicate and incompatible capabilities across the continent: reportedly 178 different types of weapon systems and 17 different makes of tanks in the EU alone, for example. Putting aside national defence contracts and pride, and pooling European resources in the name of efficiency, is yet another thorny debate that will likely be sidelined at this week's what definite outcomes can we expect?That very much depends on the man arriving in the Netherlands on Airforce ambassador to Nato says the meeting could be historic."A watershed moment" is how another high-level diplomat put it to me – and possibly "the most significant Nato summit since the Cold War": the moment Europe began to spend as much as the US on defence and to truly assume responsibility for its own security. BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
Powys County Times
40 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Zelensky to visit UK ahead of Nato summit as Russian bombardment continues
Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the UK on Monday as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine. The Ukrainian president will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Monday afternoon as part of the visit, according to No 10. Mr Zelensky said he expected to discuss his country's defences and new ways to increase pressure on Russia ahead of a Nato summit that starts on Tuesday. His arrival in the UK follows reports that Russia fired 352 drones and 16 missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least 10 civilians including seven in Kyiv. Mr Zelensky said preliminary reports indicated Russia had used North Korean missiles to attack Kyiv and described those two countries, and Iran, as a 'coalition of murderers'. His visit to London comes the day before Nato leaders are set to meet in The Hague for a two-day summit, with increased defence spending top of the agenda. Mr Zelensky has been invited to the summit but will not take part in its main discussions, and it is still unclear whether he will attend at all. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'President Zelensky is visiting the UK today, ahead of the Nato summit in the Hague. You can expect the Prime Minister to host him in Downing Street this afternoon and reiterate our steadfast support for Ukraine.'
