---
title: "Britain calls for strong measures against Russia as Ukraine's Zelensky heads to London"
description: "Britain on Friday called for a raft of measures against Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand ahead of any future peace talks, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heads to London for discussions with key allies."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-10-24-britain-calls-for-strong-measures-against-russia-as-ukraines-zelenskiy-heads-to-london/"
published: "2025-10-24T05:33:47"
updated: "2025-10-24T05:41:48"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 296
---

# Britain calls for strong measures against Russia as Ukraine's Zelensky heads to London

> Britain on Friday called for a raft of measures against Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand ahead of any future peace talks, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heads to London for discussions with key allies.

By Reuters · Published 24 October 2025, 07:33 SAST · Updated 24 October 2025, 07:41 SAST

## Key points
- In a bold diplomatic tango, Keir Starmer rallies the "Coalition of the Willing" to squeeze Russia's energy lifeline while Trump flips the script with sanctions, proving that when it comes to Ukraine, the only thing more volatile than oil prices is international politics.
- Keir Starmer to convene "Coalition of the Willing" to discuss cutting Russian oil and gas from global markets and increasing military support for Ukraine.
- Meeting follows U.S. sanctions on Russia’s largest oil firms, marking a shift in President Trump’s stance on the Ukraine conflict.
- Starmer criticizes Putin for rejecting peace proposals, urging intensified pressure on Russia to end its invasion.
- EU approves new sanctions, including a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas, as Ukraine seeks long-range weapons and support from frozen Russian assets.

## Content

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said he would press a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and give Kyiv more long-range missiles.

The meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies with sanctions, in a dramatic U-turn after he said last week that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would soon hold a summit in Budapest to try to end the war in Ukraine.

Starmer said Putin had shown he was not serious about proposals to end the war.

"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," Starmer said in a statement.

"We must ratchet up the pressure on Russia and build on President Trump’s decisive action."

Friday's talks in London will be a mixture of in-person and virtual, with NATO chief Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expected to join Starmer and Zelenskiy in London.

Zelensky welcomed Trump's energy sanctions in a trip to Brussels on Thursday, where he also urged European leaders to give Kyiv long-range weapons and use frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine further.

Moscow has said it would deliver a "painful response" if the assets were seized under the plan to use them to provide a 140 billion-euro ($163 billion) loan to Kyiv.

In another bid to starve Moscow of revenue, the EU approved a 19th package of sanctions that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by Ed Osmond)