Zelenskyy: UK billions will aid Ukrainian weapons production

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a UK loan of over 2 billion pounds would be used for weapons production in Ukraine. The deal in London came after the Ukrainian leader’s tumultuous meeting with Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy made an impromptu stopover in London after an unprecedented heated exchange with US President Donald Trump in Washington on FridayImage: Kin Cheung/AP/picture alliance

Free world must stand up to evil, Czech president says
Czech President Petr Pavel said in a post on X that it was time “to start considering a broad coalition of willing for just peace in Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy: UK loan will ‘enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities’

Following his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media platform X that the pair discussed “concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine’s position.”

Zelenskyy hailed the loan agreement worth 2.26 billion pounds (€2.74 billion or $2.84 billion) signed by his country and the UK.

“This loan will enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets,” he said.

“This is true justice,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “The one who started the war must be the one to pay.”

Macron calls Zelenskyy-Trump clash ‘press conference gone wrong’

In an interview with French newspaper Tribune Dimanche on Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron called for a return to calm and respect following the Oval Office clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Macron described Friday’s televised showdown as “a press conference gone wrong.”

He stressed that “beyond the anger, everyone needs to return to calm, respect, and recognition, so that we can move forward concretely because what is at stake is too important.”

“The manifest destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that,” Macron added.

The French president spoke to several French media outlets on the eve of Sunday’s summit in London where European leaders will discuss the Ukraine war.

In his interview with Le Parisien newspaper, Macron proposed “a strategic dialogue” with European countries that do not have nuclear weapons, adding that the move would “make France stronger.”

His country and Britain are Europe’s only two nuclear-armed powers.

“We have a shield, they don’t. And they can no longer depend on the American nuclear deterrent,” Macron said.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/zelenskyy-uk-billions-will-aid-ukrainian-weapons-production/live-71793304