{"id":128397,"date":"2025-03-02T03:47:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T03:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-latest-starmer-pledges-2bn-weapons-loan-to-zelensky-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-03-02T03:47:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T03:47:35","slug":"ukraine-latest-starmer-pledges-2bn-weapons-loan-to-zelensky-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-latest-starmer-pledges-2bn-weapons-loan-to-zelensky-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine latest: Starmer pledges \u00a32bn weapons loan to Zelensky – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ukrainian president will meet with King Charles on Sunday ahead of a defence summit with European leaders
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Sir Keir Starmer has a \u00a32.26billion weapons package to Ukraine following his \u201cmeaningful and warm\u201d meeting <\/a>with Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>.
Sir Keir <\/a>told<\/a> the Ukrainian president he has \u201cfull backing across the United Kingdom\u201d as the men met at No 10. Mr Zelensky told the prime minister \u201cwe count on your support\u201d.<\/a>
The Ukrainian president\u2019s meeting comes a day after his explosive White House clash<\/a> with US president Donald Trump<\/a>.
In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, the meeting between Sir Keir and the Ukrainian president appeared warm.
Mr Zelensky hailed a “meaningful and warm meeting” with Sir Keir Starmer. He said the UK and Ukraine signed a loan agreement to enhance Ukraine\u2019s defense capabilities, with repayment coming from revenues from frozen Russian assets that will fund weapons production in Ukraine.
Ukraine\u2019s finance minister said the loan was valued at \u00a32.26bn.
Mr Zelensky will also meet with King Charles<\/a> on Sunday ahead of a defence summit with European leaders in London.
The US president claimed Mr Zelensky was \u201cgambling with World War Three\u201d in a series of heated exchanges on Friday which were broadcast around the world.<\/a>
Italy has signed a deal with Ukraine to provide Kyiv \u00a313m for restoring its energy infrastructure amid Russia’s invasion.
The $13.5m will be directed towards Kyiv’s Energy Support Fund, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry.
Losses from Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have amounted to “billions of dollars,” according to the ministry.
Russia continues to target critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine with over 30 such strikes conducted in the last three years, Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko said.
Some of the key Ukrainian energy sites occupied by Russia include hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants as well Europe’s largest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Italy’s assistance will allow Ukraine “to procure essential equipment and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine\u2019s energy system at a time when the enemy is relentlessly attacking energy facilities,” the country’s deputy energy minister Roman Andarak said.
There is a planned rally in support of Ukraine at Downing Street on Sunday.
The organisers plan the rally from 2pm tomorrow.
On Saturday, a group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelensky\u2019s convoy drove by.
The British trade envoy to Ukraine has said the UK must \u201cmove as quickly as possible\u201d to support Kyiv in its fight against Russia.
Labour MP Alex Sobel, who has just returned from a trip to Ukraine, tells The Independent <\/em>that Kyiv\u2019s supporters must push for the roughly \u00a3239 billion in Russian assets frozen in Europe to be sent to Ukraine to help them continue the fight.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak published a piece in The Economist <\/em>yesterday endorsing the same principle, which would require European legislation.
\u201c\u2018Having just come back from Ukraine and meeting soldiers back from the frontline and seeing the level of reconstruction needed even now it’s clear that the odds are stacked against the Ukrainian people,\u201d Mr Sobel says.
\u201cIt’s imperative we move as quickly as possible to legislate to mobilise frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. It\u2019s right the aggressor pays for the unbelievable damage they have caused.\u201d
Sir Keir Starmer has always made his backing of Ukraine clear. But as he walks a diplomatic tightrope between Europe, Ukraine and Donald Trump\u2019s erratic behaviour, there were question marks over what his next move would be following Friday\u2019s catastrophic clash between Zelensky and the US president.
While he has avoided calling out Donald Trump directly, today\u2019s meet and greet with Volodymyr Zelensky on Downing Street spoke volumes.
The prime minister walked almost half way down the street to meet the Ukrainian president, before hugging him and walking him back up the street to the front door of No 10.
One of the most heavily staged Downing Street welcomes in recent history, the visuals were striking \u2013 and it was nothing short of a show of strength from the PM.
America is strong enough to survive abandoning its old allies \u2013 but if the irascible president follows through on his Oval Office warning and switches off aid to Ukraine, there will be a heavy price to pay by the entire continent, says <\/em>Mark Almond<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Sir Keir Starmer has invited European leaders to London tomorrow for a defence summit.
Leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania have all been invited.
The presidents of the European Council, European Commission and Nato Secretary General have also been invited.
Below, we remind you of the astonishing confrontation between US president Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance and the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
The spat, in which Mr Zelensky was insulted and abused by two figures with little regard for facts before being told to say \u201cthank you\u201d for American support, has caused havoc across Europe.
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