LONDON (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in London for talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday, a boost for Ukraine after a summit of its main backers was cancelled at a difficult moment in its fight against Russia.
Zelenskiy and Starmer have both said the war with Russia is at a critical point, and the Ukrainian leader is keen for the West to deliver long-range missiles and other support to try to change the balance on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian president had been due to present a “victory plan” for the war to allies in Germany this week, but the summit was postponed after U.S. President Joe Biden cancelled his visit to focus on Hurricane Milton.
Starmer said at the start of his meeting with Zelenskiy in Downing Street that it was “very important we are able to show our continued commitment to support Ukraine” and it was a chance to “go through the plan, to talk in more detail”.
NATO’s new secretary-general, Mark Rutte, was also due to meet Starmer and Zelenskiy in Downing Street later on Thursday.
Zelenskiy is travelling in Europe to meet allies this week. He was in Croatia on Wednesday and will meet Pope Francis on Friday.
Ukraine’s arms donors had been set to convene at the Ramstein Air Base for their highest-level meeting on the sidelines of a Biden state visit to Germany.
But the White House said Biden needed to oversee preparations for Hurricane Milton and relief efforts after another hurricane last month killed more than 200 people.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Kevin Liffey)
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