TRANSCRIPT:
It's been two days since this tense exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.
TRUMP: "You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. With us you start having cards."
ZELENSKYY: "I'm not playing cards."
TRUMP: "You're playing cards, you're gambling with millions of people, you're gambling with World War Three. You're gambling with World War three. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country. This country, it's backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have."
VANCE: "Have you said thank you once?"
ZELENSKYY: "A lot of time, a lot of times, even today."
VANCE: "In this entire meeting have you said thank you?"
Now, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London’s Lancaster House.
And he has pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the UK will use A$3.3 billion (1.6 billion pounds) in export financing for 5,000 air defence missiles.
"We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace."
The PM has held urgent talks with Zelenskyy, as well as US President Donald Trump, and France's President Emmanuel Macron, reinforcing the need for a swift European-led peace plan.
Mr Starmer says Britain and France are working on an agreement with Ukraine they will present to Donald Trump.
"First, we will keep the military aid flowing and keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now. Second, we agree that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be at the table. Third, in the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine's own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion. Fourth, we will go further to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace."
He says any peace agreement would require a US backstop, repeating his commitment to sending British troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force.
"The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting. But to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U-S backing."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has not welcomed these moves, saying that plans for peacekeepers in Ukraine could incite further fighting.
"Now about peacekeepers… ‘We are training thousands of people, we will provide these peacekeepers with air cover’. This is also arrogance, because, first of all, no one is asking us. Trump understands everything. Trump says it is too early, when there is a settlement, you can discuss this issue, but it will require the agreement of the parties."
But European leaders are backing the UK.
The fallout between the White House and Kyiv, and President's Trump threat to end Ukrainian aid, has generated concern that Ukraine is now more vulnerable to Russian aggression.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb says the continent needs a plan for peace in Ukraine.
"Well, it was extraordinary diplomacy, I must say. Or perhaps failure of diplomacy. And I think at the end of the day, there was only one winner of that exchange, that was Vladimir Putin. Having said all of that, probably a wake up call. And, you know, the conversations that I've had since, in the past 72 hours, pretty much about ‘let's move on, let's get back on track, let's see what diplomacy can do.’ And I'm quite convinced that the meeting that we have here in London today is going to give us a first step back to the table."
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, says Europe urgently needs to rearm, and E-U member states must be given the fiscal space to carry out a surge in defence spending.
"We all have understood that after a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time. It's for the security of the European Union. ... We really have to step up massively the defence expenditure. And for that, we need a clear, big plan from the European Union, for the member states, and of course for common European domains, like for example advanced air shields, we need a common European approach. But also the member states need more fiscal space to do a surge in defence."
