The US has told Russia “the ball is truly in their court” as Washington demands and end to the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the American government would “have contact” with Moscow imminently. However, asked about the 30-day ceasefire proposal agreed between the US and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The spokesman said US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could speak directly, saying: “We also do not rule out the need for a telephone conversation at the highest level.” Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “redouble our efforts” to end the war in Ukraine as he prepared for further talks with European leaders about a “coalition of the willing” to deter future Russian aggression. The Prime Minister will host an online summit on Saturday after Defence Secretary John Healey met counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland in Paris.
Sir Keir said: “I welcome the progress of talks between Ukraine and the United States. We must now redouble our efforts to get a lasting, secure peace.” This should include Russia returning the 19,000 children it is believed to have kidnapped from Ukraine, according to the Prime Minister, who said: “When we say a lasting, just settlement for peace in Ukraine, it must of course involve dealing with that issue.”
It follows an apparent breakthrough in talks between Ukraine and Mr Trump’s US administration, which has sparked hopes the conflict could be brought to an end. The UK and France are leading plans to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if a ceasefire is agreed. However, Downing Street said Britain will continue to support Ukraine’s battle to defend itself if Putin refuses to accept a deal.
The US and Ukraine’s government, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, have agreed plans for a 30-day ceasefire which could then be extended. America also resumed intelligence sharing with Ukraine and US arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics centre, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced.
Mr Trump said Mr Zelensky could receive another invitation to visit the White House, suggesting a major shift in the US approach following the Ukrainian leader’s disastrous Washington trip last month. Pressure is now on Russia to accept the ceasefire and US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow and put the deal to Putin.
Fighting continues for now and Ukrainian soldiers admitted Russia had made progress in efforts to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk region. Inside Ukraine, Russian ballistic missiles killed at least five civilians according to officials, while earlier this week a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Mpscow killed three.
Sir Keir hinted in the House of Commons that the UK had helped to bring the US and Ukraine together, after the explosive public row in the White House which saw Mr Trump and US vice-president JD Vance bellowing at Mr Zelensky in front of the media.
The Prime Minister said: “A huge amount of hard work, discussions and diplomacy was used with all our allies, and others.” Referring to Mr Trump, he said: “I have spoken to the president on a number of occasions, including this week.”
Other European leaders also welcomed the prospect of a peace deal. French president Emmanuel Macron said on X that “the ball is now clearly in Russia’s court”, while German chancellor Olaf Scholz said the 30-day ceasefire is “an important and correct step towards a just peace for Ukraine”.
Speaking before the Paris meeting, Mr Healey said European nations are “stepping up”.
He said: “By deepening our defence co-operation, boosting spending and enhancing our collective strength, we send a clear message: we will not waver in standing with Ukraine and defending our shared values.”
Earlier this week, 34 army chiefs from NATO countries as well as Japan and Australia met in Paris for talks without their US counterparts.
But Mr Rubio suggested Washington had not yet decided whether to support the planned European peacekeeping force. Quizzed during a visit to Ireland, he said: “We’ll see. I mean, there’s different ways to construct a deterrent on the ground that prevents another war from starting in the future.
“We’re not going to go in with any sort of preconceived notion.
“The bottom line is it needs to be something that makes Ukraine feel as if they can deter and prevent a future invasion.
“How that looks and how that’s put together, that’s what we’re going to be talking about if we can get to that stage.”
