By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet with European leaders in the United Kingdom where talks will border on military support to stave off future a future aggression from Russia if the war in its fourth year ends in a ceasefire deal.
Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to be joined at the Foreign Office in London on Friday by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
Also expected to be part of the “Coalition of the Willing” meeting virtually are 20 other EU leaders, group of countries that have pledged to bolster support for Ukraine during the war.
The meeting also intends to work out ways of helping protect Ukraine’s power grid from Russia’s constant missile attacks as another winter approaches. It will also come with measures to enhance Ukrainian air defences and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia.
Russia has intensified its heavy bombardments of Ukraine, targeting civilian areas as well as energy infrastructure before winter.
Rolling power cuts have been introduced across Ukraine over the attacks in recent days, including in Kyiv, as the country rations electricity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far resisted efforts to negotiate a peace settlement with Zelenskyy, instead argues that Russia’s all-out invasion of its smaller neighbour is legitimate.
Friday’s talks aim to step up pressure on Putin, adding momentum to measures in recent days that include a new round of sanctions from an increasingly frustrated United States and Europe that take aim at Russia’s vital oil and gas export earnings.
Starmer criticised Putin’s unbudging stance before Friday’s meeting. “Time and again we offer Putin the chance to end his needless invasion, to stop the killing and recall his troops, but he repeatedly rejects those proposals and any chance of peace,” the UK prime minister said.
