This weekend’s summit in Alaska will be remembered as a turning point for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Trump’s direct intervention with Vladimir Putin was undoubtedly significant and we support every genuine effort to end this brutal conflict.
Putin’s barbaric three-year illegal war in Ukraine has brought only death, destruction and misery. Russia’s decade long aggression in the region and Putin’s despotic regime can never be airbrushed from history. An end to this conflict requires a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people.
Suggestions of territorial concessions would amount to ratifying barbaric and unprovoked aggression. Putin’s has shown he has not abandoned his territorial ambitions. His Soviet negotiating tactics have shown he is not serious about peace and yet through these talks he is seeking to win legitimacy.
There must be no thawing of relations, no welcoming Russia back into the international fold. Putin has been propped up by an axis of authoritarian states trying to extinguish a democracy on our own continent. He has only been forced to this point by relentless international pressure.
Through co-ordinated international sanctions, the Euro-Atlantic community has denied his war machine more than $400 billion since February 2022. That pressure must not wane. Britain has led on sanctions and must once again step forward—driving Europe to close loopholes, ban Russian oil and gas, and deny Moscow safe harbours for its tankers and profits.
When the moment for a settlement comes, it must be one that involves the Ukrainian people and secures justice for them. And it must hold. That requires more than rhetoric.
As His Majesty’s Opposition we have worked with the government in the national interest to support Ukraine. But we will not write Labour a blank cheque. Talk of British boots on the ground makes headlines, but what is needed is a serious plan.
That plan cannot drift into EU-badged defence experiments or fantasy coalitions. True security for Ukraine—and for Europe—must be NATO-led, with the full weight of our American allies. For Britain and our partners, the focus must be on real security measures for Ukraine and NATO’s eastern flank: troop deployments, air defence, cyber resilience, and sustained training of Ukrainian and frontline militaries.
It must also mean strengthening Britain’s own defence capability for the long term, rebuilding readiness, and deepening NATO partnerships.
The Conservatives have always stood by Ukraine. We will continue to work with the government, but we will also hold them to account to ensure Britain provides the international leadership needed to secure Ukraine’s future and bring this appalling war to an end.
