The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, and US vice president, JD Vance, met Ukrainian and European partners in Kent on Saturday to discuss efforts to secure peace in Ukraine.
The summit at Chevening came ahead of a planned meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska. The US president has said an end to the war must involve “some swapping of territories” a comment that drew sharp criticism from Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that “Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers” and warned that any settlement excluding Ukraine would be “decisions against peace”.
Despite concerns that Kyiv could be sidelined, a White House official later said Trump was open to a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy, although Friday’s talks are set to be bilateral at Putin’s request.
Lammy confirmed the Chevening meeting had been attended by Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office; Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defence minister; and national security advisers from Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland. “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace,” Lammy posted on X.
Zelenskyy described the talks as constructive, saying Ukraine’s concerns had been heard and risks acknowledged. He emphasised that “the path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine”.
Later, the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Finland, along with the European Commission president, issued a joint statement stressing that peace terms could not be decided without Kyiv’s involvement. They backed Trump’s stated aim of ending the conflict, but insisted any settlement must combine “active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war”.
Earlier in the day, Prime minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone with Zelenskyy. Downing Street said both leaders welcomed Trump’s desire to end the “barbaric war” but agreed on the need to maintain pressure on Putin. Starmer reaffirmed his “unwavering support for Ukraine and its people”.
