Allied nations have pledged to act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, Sir Keir Starmer said, after leaders gathered with Volodymyr Zelensky in London.
The prime minister urged other nations to follow the US and impose sanctions, and said allies had agreed on a “clear plan for the rest of the year” in supporting Kyiv.
Among the further pledges were plans to “push on with the progress” on Russian assets and “keep up the military pressure on Putin” as the conflict heads towards its fourth winter. The UK also said it would “accelerate” its missile production programme to get more weapons to Ukraine.
It comes days after the White House imposed new sanctions on Russian oil in an attempt to squeeze Moscow.
Speaking in London after a coalition of the willing meeting alongside Mr Zelensky, Sir Keir said: “We will act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market.
“Last week, the UK became the first country to sanction all of Russia’s oil majors. On Wednesday, the US acted decisively to join us together with further sanctions from the EU and we’re choking off funding for Russia’s war machine.
“I’m urging others to take these steps too, to go further to reduce their dependencies and incentivise third countries to stop buying these tainted resources.”
The British and Ukrainian leaders were joined by Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof and Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen for a press conference at the Foreign Office in Westminster following their coalition of the willing discussions.
Mr Rutte, the head of the Nato alliance, described Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage in ceasefire talks as “deluded aggression” and said that “the truth is that Putin is running out of money, troops and ideas”.
The leaders in London were joined by others who joined virtually. Mr Zelensky said that the group discussed “enhancing our air defence” in their meeting.
In a post on social media on Friday afternoon, the Ukrainian leader said he is “grateful for the shared position on the need to further increase pressure on Russia and continue work with the United States on developing clear and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine”.
Sir Keir also said that the UK was “accelerating” the push to provide Kyiv with “more than 5,000 lightweight multirole missiles”. He told the press conference that the project is “creating 200 jobs and supporting 700 existing roles at Thales in Belfast”.
It comes amid a diplomacy push over the US providing Tomahawk missiles. Mr Rutte said the matter remains under “review”.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Zelensky got a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle for a meeting with the King.
There was a royal salute as the Ukrainian leader shook hands in the castle royal quadrangle – the first ceremonial welcome he has received in the UK.
Mr Zelensky inspected the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards and was then led inside the castle for an audience with the King.
The Ukrainian president told the press conference later that Russia “want to break Ukraine. They are doing everything to achieve it.”
While Mr Zelensky continued to push for more military support from Europe, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday its forces had taken control of three more villages in eastern Ukraine.
According to the ministry, Russian troops have taken Bolohivka in the Kharkiv region, Promin in the Donetsk region, as well as Zlagoda in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Earlier, the ministry also said its forces had captured the settlement of Dronivka in the Donetsk region.
The reported gains come after Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Vladimir Putin with new sanctions on Russian oil.
The United States this week imposed sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, while EU countries approved their 19th package of sanctions on Moscow that included a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.
