France and Britain yesterday urged allies to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron agreed the new strategy during talks in Paris aimed at ensuring Kyiv’s fight for freedom can survive the return of President Trump, who has vowed to end the war ‘in a day’.
It came as the head of the Royal Air Force stepped up pressure on political leaders to sign off Ukraine’s use of Britain’s powerful Storm Shadow missiles against military targets deep inside Russia.
Ministers are also gearing up for Mr Trump to trigger a trade war by slapping tariffs on all foreign imports. Treasury sources said Rachel Reeves would use the Chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech this week to make the case for free trade.
Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday downplayed concerns that the incoming Trump administration could withdraw military backing for Ukraine, insisting he expects the US to support Kyiv ‘for as long as it takes to prevail’.
Mr Healey said the President-elect ‘recognises that countries get security through strength’. But he later told MPs that European countries ‘must be prepared to spend more on defence’.
Mr Trump’s campaign rhetoric has alarmed Ukraine’s supporters, with some fearing he will slash support and force Kyiv to sue for peace.
The Prime Minister and France’s president Mr Macron yesterday agreed to step up support immediately to bolster Ukraine’s position before Mr Trump takes office in January.
A No 10 spokesman said the two leaders discussed ‘how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter’.
Speaking to journalists while travelling to the Cop29 climate change summit in Azerbaijan, Sir Keir said: ‘Full support for Ukraine and making sure Ukraine is in the best possible position have been the sort of driving principles of the arguments that I’ve been putting forward.’
President Joe Biden is also expected to urge his successor to maintain support for Kyiv when the two men meet for transition talks tomorrow. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the President would tell Mr Trump that ‘the United States should not walk away from Ukraine’.
But Mr Trump’s son Donald Jr intensified fears his father will do a quick deal with Vladimir Putin, saying there was no place for ‘war hawks’ in his father’s cabinet and suggesting Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky would be ‘losing (his) allowance’.
Sir Keir and Mr Macron are thought to have discussed efforts to persuade Mr Biden to approve the use of Storm Shadows. Although Britain has supplied missiles, US navigation systems are needed to target sites deep inside Russia, requiring Mr Biden’s approval. He has so far resisted because of concerns it could trigger Russia to escalate the crisis.
The case for their use appeared to be backed by Britain’s Chief of the Air Staff Sir Richard Knighton yesterday.
Speaking at defence think-tank Rusi, Sir Richard did not name the missile – but called for Kyiv to be given its capabilities.
‘Ukraine cannot put up a shield to protect themselves against the 30,000 glide bombs lobbed into the Kursk Oblast,’ he said. ‘They need… the ability to strike the aircraft launching these bombs on the ground.’ Mr Zelensky at the weekend told US TV: ‘We are not ready to give our freedom to this f***ing terrorist Putin.’
Meanwhile, ministers are already trying to persuade Mr Trump to drop a plan to put 20 per cent tariffs on all foreign imports.
But Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to Washington, said: ‘It will be quite a challenge for the UK. I don’t see any special deal for the UK or Europe.’
by Jason Groves, Political Editor
Standing side by side with the French president before a roaring flame, Sir Keir Starmer yesterday paid tribute to the fallen of the First World War in a historic Armistice Day visit.
He became the first British prime minister since Winston Churchill to attend the commemorations in Paris, where he joined Emmanuel Macron to lay a wreath at a statue of Britain’s wartime leader.
Sir Keir said he was ‘honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today’.
The two leaders also reviewed French troops in an open top military vehicle before laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. And they were overheard joking about the heavy rain at the ceremony, with Sir Keir saying ‘everybody is blaming me’ for the downpour.
The French president, who invited Sir Keir to attend yesterday’s commemoration, replied: ‘Some people said, ‘You came with the British weather.’
The PM, who is seeking a ‘reset’ in relations with Europe, also used the visit to hold talks with President Macron and French prime minister Michel Barnier.
It is the first time a British PM has attended the Paris commemorations since 1944, when Churchill joined General Charles de Gaulle following the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the Prime Minister’s visit was a reminder that ‘we can never take the freedoms we enjoy in Europe for granted’.