UK vows to boost Ukraine aid as Trump says he and Putin starting ‘negotiations’

Welcoming Ukraine to Nato will take “some time”, the UK Defence Secretary said as Donald Trump claimed he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war in a call on Wednesday.

John Healey said the focus “for now” should be on ensuring Kyiv is in a strong position going into any potential peace talks, after the US insisted the country’s membership of the military alliance was not a realistic prospect.

It came as the president said he had agreed with Russia’s leader to “work together, very closely” on bringing the three-year conflict to an end in a conversation on Wednesday.

Giving a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of defence leaders from countries across the world, Mr Healey said that Ukraine’s “rightful place” was within Nato, which the country has been seeking to join for many years.

But he sought to play down splits between the UK and Washington, despite US defence secretary Pete Hegseth appearing to rule out membership for the country as a way of guaranteeing its security.

It will be a major blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as admission of new countries to the alliance requires unanimous agreement by existing members.

Mr Healey said: “What he (Mr Hegseth) set out was his commitment, President Trump’s commitment, like ours, to see a durable peace to this conflict.”

He added: “We, as a Nato alliance, to which he also gave the firmest possible continuing commitment, have always been clear that Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato.

“That is a process that will take some time, and for now, our duty, my duty, as a defence minister, the duty of the nations around that table, is to make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position going into any talks in the future.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump said in a post on social media that he and Mr Putin had agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war in a “lengthy and highly productive phone call.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “We both agreed we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.

“President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘Common Sense.’ We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations.

“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy (sic), of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.”

Mr Trump’s call with the Russian president came just hours after Mr Zelensky warned “Putin is not preparing for peace” and called for unity from Ukraine’s allies.

Following a ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian president said: “This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own.

“Putin is not preparing for peace – he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities.

“Only strong actions and pressure on Russia can put an end to this terror. Right now, we need the unity and support of all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war.”

Mr Healey joined more than 50 defence allies from across the world, including from France, Germany and the US, at Nato’s headquarters in the Belgian capital, where he chaired the 26th Ukraine Defence Contact Group summit.

Addressing defence ministers at the meeting, Mr Hegseth indicated that Washington is intent on getting Europe to carry most of the financial and military burden of defending Ukraine.

He also appeared to rule out deploying US peacekeeping troops in the event of a potential ceasefire and suggested any soldiers from other countries should be sent as a non-Nato mission without Article Five protections.

The alliance’s Article Five says that an armed attack on one member of the military bloc is considered an attack on all.

Mr Healey is understood to have told his US counterpart that European Nato allies are already stepping up their commitment to Ukraine, and insisted the best way to secure peace was for the US and Europe to put Kyiv on a strong footing for negotiations.

Asked whether he thought Europe would be able to meet the US demands and still put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, Mr Healey said: “What the nations around the table at the discussion this afternoon confirmed was that the European nations and the wider international nations, alongside the US, can and must step up the help for Ukraine, and we will.

“But what Secretary General (Mark) Rutte has also confirmed today is that 58% of the military aid put into the hands of the Ukrainians in the last year was provided and delivered by European nations.

“So we are stepping up the support for Ukraine. We will do more. We’ll do that alongside the Americans, and we will do that to support President Trump’s pledge to bring Putin to the table and to secure a durable, lasting peace to this war in Ukraine.”

He added: “We heard his (Mr Hegseth’s) call for European nations to step up. We are and we will.”

Opening the meeting on Wednesday, the Defence Secretary announced a package of £150 million worth of battle tanks, drones and armoured vehicles and air defence systems as part of the UK’s £3 billion annual pledge to Ukraine.

He said: “2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine.

“Speaking as a European defence minister, we know our responsibilities. We are doing more of the heavy lifting and sharing more of the burden.

“While Russia is weakened, it remains undeniably dangerous. We must step up further, and secure peace through strength, together.”

The UK has sent 500,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, worth over £1 billion and is on track to provide more than 10,000 drones within a year with final deliveries due next month, he said.

The package includes a multi-million-pound contract with UK defence firm Babcock, which will train Ukrainian personnel to maintain and repair Challenger 2 tanks, self-propelled artillery, and combat reconnaissance vehicles inside Ukraine.

Mr Healey was understood to be having a bilateral meeting with the US defence secretary on Wednesday, though no readout is expected.