Keir Starmer pushing Nato to back Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes’

The Prime Minister said the alliance must send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer will promise the UK will support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” as he confirms the £3 billion a year funding package for Kyiv will continue.

The Prime Minister, who met President Volodymyr Zelensky in the margins of the Nato summit in Washington on Wednesday, will tell members of the alliance that they need to send a “clear message” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Sir Keir said the £3 billion a year military support for Ukraine will continue until at least 2030/31 and for as long as it is needed.

At a special session on Ukraine at the Nato summit on Thursday, Sir Keir will warn that the frontline defence of the Euro-Atlantic region is the Ukrainian trenches.

He will say: “Nato was founded by the generation who defeated fascism. They understood not just the value of our strength, but the strength of our values.

“Those values are under attack once again. Putin needs to hear a clear message ringing out from this summit – a message of unity and determination, that we will support Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to uphold our shared values and our shared security.”

Defence Secretary John Healey visited Ukraine shortly after taking office to promise artillery guns and shells and 90 Brimstone missiles.

The UK has also confirmed it will contribute £40 million to Nato’s comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine and the UK-administered international fund for Ukraine will place a new order, worth £300 million, for 120,000 rounds of 152mm Soviet-era ammunition.

The summit is expected to cement Ukraine’s progress towards Nato membership.

But because of Nato’s Article V, which commits to mutual defence, the allies will not allow Ukraine to join while it is still at war as that would trigger an immediate conflict with Russia.

Nato allies are stepping up commitments on Ukraine while they await the results of November’s US presidential election, where Donald Trump has threatened to reduce American support.