UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump claimed the Ukrainian president was “a dictator withoutelections.”
In the call, the UK prime minister gave Zelensky his support “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” and said it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War Two,” according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
The call followed a war of words between Trump and Zelensky, with the US president criticising his Ukrainian counterpart for postponing elections and incorrectly claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia.
Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019.
Elections in Ukraine were previously scheduled to go ahead in 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky said Trump was living in a “disinformation space,” while others have accused the US president of repeating Russian talking points.
Other British political figures, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, also pushed back against Trump’s remarks, although Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, understood to be travelling to the United States, was yet to comment.
The spat between the two men comes at a delicate moment in global politics after US and Russian officials met for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to begin talks aimed at brokering a peace deal in Ukraine.
Alex Younger, whose tenure as head of MI6 covered Trump’s first term as president, warned that the president’s comments would be “emboldening” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that the Russians “probably” believed he agreed with them.
He told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “I saw this happen in Afghanistan where he gave away the biggest concessions before we even started.
“It’s a strange art of the deal, honestly.”
Starmer himself is expected to travel to Washington next week for talks with Trump, including on Ukraine and European security, with French President Emmanuel Macron reported to be heading to the White House in the same week.
The meeting will be Starmer’s first with Trump since his inauguration as US president in January, and will see Britain attempt to balance its support for Ukraine with the need to keep the White House onside.
Meanwhile, two of Starmer’s top ministers are expected to spend Thursday in talks with other allies.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey will continue his visit to Norway, where he has already met troops near the Russian border alongside his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik.
In South Africa, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is attending a two-day meeting of G20 foreign ministers and is expected to directly criticise the Kremlin and emphasise the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine, as well as addressing other areas.
Ahead of the meeting, Lammy said: “At this precarious geopolitical moment, we must work with the widest possible coalition of countries to stand up for Ukraine, build stability in the Middle East and act urgently on Sudan and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo).”