UK urges Putin to agree to Ukraine ceasefire in meeting with allies

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine now, if he is “serious about peace.”

At the end of a virtual meeting on Saturday with allies in the “coalition of the willing,” Starmer said the Kremlin’s “dithering and delay” over U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal, and Russia’s “continued barbaric attacks” on Ukraine, “run entirely counter” to Putin’s stated desire for peace.

“In the event of a ceasefire, we emphasised the need for strong monitoring arrangements, to ensure that any violations of a deal are identified and called out,” he said.

Around 25 countries were involved in the call, including European partners such as France and Italy, and Ukraine. Leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as officials from NATO and the European Union’s executive, were also due to take part.

“My feeling is that sooner or later he's going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion, but — this is a big but for us this morning in our meeting — we can’t sit back and simply wait for that to happen," Starmer told leaders, referring to Putin.

“I think that means strengthening Ukraine so they can defend themselves, and strengthening, obviously, in terms of military capability, in terms of funding, in terms of the provision of further support from all of us to Ukraine.”

Saturday’s meeting took place in the wake of a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has backed.

Like the last meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on March 2nd, there was no representative from the United States, which has shifted its approach on the war since the return of President Trump to the White House. The change of approach relative to that taken by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Zelenskyy on 28 Feb in the Oval Office.

Putin has indicated that he supports a truce in principle but has set out a host of details that need to be clarified before agreeing to a ceasefire. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has voiced “cautious optimism” about the possibility of Putin, who met with US envoy Steve Witkoff, on Thursday, backing a ceasefire.

Starmer appears to be less optimistic, and has told western leaders that concrete commitments are required now as Putin plays “pointless games” with Trump’s peace plan.

Starmer has taken the lead, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, in assembling the “coalition of the willing,” in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv. One outcome has already been a growing acceptance from European countries in particular that they need to do more to ensure their own security, including by increasing their defence spending.

Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the truce proposal. Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say Putin likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage.

Russia and Ukraine continue strikes

Russia and Ukraine traded heavy aerial blows overnight on Saturday, with both sides reporting more than 100 enemy drones over their respective territories.

Russia's Volgograd regional Gov. Andrei Bocharov confirmed that falling drone debris had sparked a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city close to a Lukoil oil refinery, but provided no further details. Nearby airports temporarily halted flights, local media outlets reported. No casualties were reported.

The Volgograd refinery has been targeted by Kyiv’s forces on several occasions since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, most recently in a drone attack on 15 Feb.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that it had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones, 64 of which were destroyed over the Volgograd region. Drones were also shot down over the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov and Kursk regions, officials said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday that Russia had launched a barrage of 178 drones and two ballistic missiles over the country overnight. The barrage was a mixture of Shahed-type attack drones and imitation drones designed to confuse air defences. Some 130 drones were shot down, while 38 more were lost en route to their targets.

Russia attacked energy facilities, causing significant damage, said Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK.

Russia struck energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, DTEK said in a statement on Saturday. Some residents were left without electricity.

“The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,” the energy firm said.