Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it is his job to “repair bridges” between Ukraine and the United States, ahead of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street.
It comes after President Donald Trump said he had struck a deal with Moscow to import Russian diesel.
Asked about Trump’s move during Prime Minister’s Questions, Burnham resisted criticising the US president, saying he wanted to “be careful in terms of laying the ground to bring people back together”.
However, he stressed that Zelensky would not be leaving the UK “empty-handed”, as he said further military and financial support would be drawn up in the coming weeks.
Burnham is expected to use the visit to promise further sanctions against Russia, while also announcing the UK will accelerate its delivery of air defence missiles to Kyiv.
The UK will also urge allies to step up pressure on Russia, with Chancellor John Healey using International Monetary Fund meetings to call for a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
During PMQs, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked whether he agreed the diesel deal was “yet another shameful Trump betrayal of the Ukrainian people and European security”.
In response, Burnham did not echo Sir Ed’s condemnation of Trump, saying: “What I have to do in my role is try and repair bridges so that the support comes back and therefore I should at this moment in time be careful in terms of laying the ground to bring people back together.”
The PM said he had spoken to Zelensky over the phone on Saturday “because I recognised it was another very dark and difficult moment for him as they contemplate a winter that will be severe for his people”.
