Starmer Seeks Stronger Missile Support for Ukraine at London Summit
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to urge international partners to step up supplies of long-range missiles for Ukraine during a high-level security summit in London on Friday.
The meeting will bring together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and more than 20 allied nations forming the so-called “coalition of the willing”, a group committed to offering Kyiv long-term security guarantees once a ceasefire is achieved.
Zelensky has been appealing for weeks for greater long-range strike capabilities, despite warnings from Moscow that such support could intensify the conflict. He arrives in London following two recent diplomatic gains: new US sanctions targeting Russia and a European Union agreement to help fill Ukraine’s budget shortfall.
Sir Keir aims to use the summit to maintain pressure on Moscow and reinforce Ukraine’s leverage in future peace negotiations. NATO chief Mark Rutte, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof are among the attendees, while French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to participate virtually.
The UK prime minister will point to Ukraine’s recent strike on a chemical facility in Bryansk—conducted using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles—as evidence that long-range weapons are critical to Kyiv’s defence strategy.
“The only person who does not want this war to end is Vladimir Putin,” Starmer said, condemning recent Russian attacks that killed seven people, including two young children at a nursery in Kharkiv.
Starmer is also expected to confirm that 100 additional air defence missiles will be delivered to Ukraine ahead of schedule, as part of a £1.6bn support agreement signed earlier this year.
“We have repeatedly offered Putin a path to peace,” Starmer said. “Yet he rejects every opportunity, choosing instead to continue his brutal and needless invasion.
