- Global leaders set to convene this afternoon both in person
in London, and virtually, to discuss how they can pile pressure
on Putin
- Prime Minister will urge leaders to act to take Russian oil
and gas off the global market, finish the job on Russian
sovereign assets to unlock billions of pounds to fund Ukraine's
defences, and step up the gifting of long-range capabilities
- Meeting comes as the Prime Minister announces acceleration of
missile delivery programme to deliver 140 lightweight-multirole
missiles to Ukraine this winter, supporting UK jobs
European leaders are set to arrive in London today for a critical
meeting of the Coalition of Willing as Ukraine's allies ramp up
pressure on Russia heading into winter.
Leaders will convene this afternoon, both in person and
virtually, to discuss how they can pile pressure on Putin as he
continues to kill innocent civilians with indiscriminate attacks
across Ukraine, including hitting a nursery filled with toddlers
and children this week.
The London hosted meeting comes after Putin proved yet again that
he is not serious about ending his illegal war, failing to engage
with President Trump's most recent proposals for meaningful peace
talks.
Leaders are expected to use the meeting to focus the world's
attention on how they can further strengthen Ukraine's hand and
cripple Russia's ability to continue to wage war.
Prime Minister said:
“The only person involved in this conflict who does not want to
stop the war is President Putin, and his depraved strikes on
young children in a nursery this week make that crystal clear.
“Time and again we offer Putin the chance to end his needless
invasion, to stop the killing and recall his troops, but he
repeatedly rejects those proposals and any chance of peace.
“From the battlefield to the global markets, as Putin continues
to commit atrocities in Ukraine we must ratchet up the pressure
on Russia and build on President Trump's decisive action.
“After all, Ukraine's security matters to us all, and what
happens on the frontline of Donetsk today is shaping our
collective future for years to come.”
In the past fortnight, the international community has stepped up
its decisive action to force President Putin back to the
negotiating table and secure a just and lasting peace for
Ukraine.
That has included the US' decisive action this week to place a
chokehold round Putin's finance flows and sanction two of the
largest Russian oil companies, following the UK action taken last
week.
The European Union has also adopted its 19th sanctions package
against Russia, further targeting the Russian oil trade and
cracking down on financial loopholes, and Ukraine's allies have
accelerated work to use the full value of immobilised Russian
Sovereign Assets to support Ukraine – a move that would be
unprecedented and finance Ukraine's war efforts for years to
come.
The government has been clear that the UK's national security –
the foundation of the Government's Plan for Change – starts in
Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister
Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister Dick Schoof, as well as the
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, are all expected to attend
the meeting in person at the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office today. They will be greeted by children from
St Mary's Ukrainian School, which has welcomed hundreds of
displaced Ukrainian children since Russia's full-scale invasion.
A further 20 leaders are expected to dial into the call.
During the call, the Prime Minister is expected to call on
leaders to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going
into the winter. He will urge leaders to act to take Russian oil
and gas off the global market, finish the job on Russian
sovereign assets to unlock billions of pounds to fund Ukraine's
defences, and step up the gifting of long-range capabilities to
ensure Ukraine can build on its success of this week.
Leaders will also discuss how more can be done to protect energy
infrastructure, as Russia continues to systematically destroy
critical national infrastructure, plunging millions of innocent
Ukrainians into the cold and dark
The Prime Minister will announce that a UK missile building
programme has been accelerated to deliver more than 100 extra air
defence missiles ahead of schedule to bolster Ukraine's defences
through the depths of winter.
The package forms part of the £1.6bn deal between UK industry and
Ukraine in March to provide more than 5,000 lightweight-multirole
missiles (LMM) to support Ukraine's defence, creating 200 jobs
and supporting 700 existing jobs at Thales in Belfast.
The contract tripled the LMM production capacity and as work has
progressed quicker than expected the delivery of an extra 140
LMMs will be accelerated to provide to Ukraine in the winter
months.
