Ukraine still on ‘irreversible path to joining NATO’ Starmer tells Zelenskyy
Ukraine is still on an “irreversible path” to joining NATO, Sir Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The UK and Ukrainian leaders spoke on the phone early on Friday, according to Downing Street.
The conversation came less than 24 hours after Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he didn’t see any way “that a country in Russia’s position” could allow Ukraine to join NATO.
Ukraine war latest: Russian drone strikes Chernobyl site
Mr Trump’s deputy Ukraine envoy John Coale also said on Thursday that NATO membership for Ukraine was still “on the table”.
The US president has repeatedly said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, and has said he wants to start negotiations.
He is also pushing for Europe to provide more support for Kyiv, and the US to spend less.
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‘Any bilateral negotiations about Ukraine without us – we will not accept’.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir began the conversation by “reiterating the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed”.
They added: “He was unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine.
“Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up, he added.
“The prime minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to NATO, as agreed by allies at the Washington summit last year.
“Discussing the upcoming third anniversary of Ukraine’s courageous defence of its sovereignty in the face of Russia’s barbaric full-scale invasion, the leaders agreed that it would be an important moment to demonstrate international unity and support for Ukraine.
“The leaders also reflected on the prime minister’s visit to Kyiv last month, and the president updated on his plans at Munich Security Conference.
“They agreed to stay in close contact.”
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A statement on Mr Zelenskyy‘s social media said: “I informed Prime Minister Starmer about my discussion with President Trump and contacts with the American side. The Ukrainian and American teams must work together with Europeans and all our global partners to achieve concrete results.
“The security of each nation depends on strengthening our collective security. It is crucial that every new week brings tangible results that will ensure a lasting and reliable peace.
“We also discussed an action plan for the near future to shape a common strategy on security, economic cooperation, and political partnership.”
Starmer is finally standing up to Trump
After weeks of Donald Trump overturning long-established geopolitical relationships and exploding diplomatic expectations – the UK government is finally pushing back.
Abandoning our promises to Ukraine is a red line, even for a prime minister who has recently seemed more focused on getting back in the new president’s good books – in the hopes of avoiding punishing trade tariffs – than standing up for our old alliances.
Sir Keir Starmer’s early morning phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing his “concrete support” for Ukraine, the promise of “strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future” and insistence that there should be no talks “about Ukraine without Ukraine” is a restatement of a long-held position not just for the UK but for all the western allies.
But earlier this week Mr Trump ripped up that consensus with his chummy 90-minute phone call with President Vladimir Putin, suggesting that Ukraine would have to give up territory and forsake its NATO ambitions in return for any peace deal.
Sir Keir’s strategy up to now has been to tip toe around his bombastic US counterpart, hoping that the rhetoric will ultimately become detached from reality. The UK didn’t utter a peep of complaint in response to the aggressive tariffs slapped on our close ally Canada.
Yet on Ukraine the PM is finally taking a more muscular stance – not just in his broader expression of support but specifically in his commitment to the country being on an “irreversible path to NATO, as agreed by allies at the Washington Summit last year”.
Joining NATO – where an attack on one is treated as an attack on all – would be the ultimate security guarantee for Ukraine. The Russians see it as the ultimate provocation.
Clearly NATO membership for Ukraine – without the support of its biggest member – would be nigh on impossible. But now the PM has shown he is willing to burn through his capital with Donald Trump in the interests of Ukraine. We don’t yet know what the mercurial president’s response will be; but it’s a decision which will be broadly supported in Westminster and beyond.
US officials appear set to meet with Russian counterparts at the Munich Security Conference to discuss an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
While Mr Trump said Ukraine is also invited to the talks, Kyiv has said it does not expect to have a discussion with Moscow today.
Mr Trump’s pronouncements on the talks – that Ukraine would not be able to return to its 2014 borders nor join NATO – have drawn criticism from Russia hawks and supporters of Ukraine.
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John Bolton, who was the president’s national security adviser in his first term, said: “Endless concessions to Moscow are a threat to American national security.
“This week the Trump [administration] blew up the NATO position on Ukraine and the Belovezha Accords, which broke up the Soviet Union. This puts every other former republic of the Soviet Union at risk of Russian aggression.”
According to the readout of the call between Sir Keir and Mr Zelenskyy, it does not appear that they discussed the missile strike on the Chernobyl nuclear powerstation overnight.
Crypto users betting on the outcome of the snap election to determine the next Prime Minister of Canada appear to be favoring a Liberal Party victory as residents head to cast their votes.
As of April 28, cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket gave current Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney a 79% chance of defeating Conservative Party candidate Pierre Poilievre in the race for the country’s next PM. Data from the platform showed users had poured more than $75 million into bets surrounding the race, predicting a Poilievre or Carney victory.
The odds suggested by the platform, as well as those from many polls, show a nearly complete reversal of fortunes between the two candidates after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January. Trudeau and, by association, many in the Liberal Party, faced criticism over the handling of Canada’s housing crisis and questions about how he would face US President Donald Trump’s then-proposed tariffs.
Following Trudeau’s resignation, Trump stepped up rhetoric disparaging Canada, repeatedly referring to the country as the US’s “51st state” and Trudeau as its “governor.” The US President also imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada in March. The policies seem to have led to increasing anti-Trump sentiment in Canada, with many residents booing the US national anthem at hockey games and making comparisons between the president and Poilievre.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Politics
Small boat crossings pass 10,000 at earliest point in year since records began, Sky News understands
Small boat crossings have passed 10,000 in 2025 at the earliest point in a year since records began, Sky News understands.
Analysis of previous Home Office numbers and footage of people arriving today show the number of people crossing the Channel continuing to rise.
The issue has become a lodestone for political parties across the spectrum, with Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “Stop The Boats” falling well short.
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Sir Keir Starmer promised to clear the backlog of asylum applications and “Smash The Gangs” of people smugglers upstream, but critics say he has failed to do this almost a year into his stint in Number Ten.
Reform’s Nigel Farage has made the issue key to his party’s pitch to voters.
The 10,000 figure is understood to have been passed on 28 April. Official figures only go until 27 April at the time of writing, with 9,885 people detected crossing the Channel by the UK government at this point
This compares to 7,167 by the same date in 2024, 5,745 in 2023, 5,352 in 2022, and 1,796 in 2021. Data only started to get collected in 2018, and for the first three years fewer than 1,000 people were observed crossing the Channel before 28 April.
Fine weather conditions are known to lead to an increase in people crossing the Channel, with some efforts earlier this year stymied by heavy winds.
Sir Keir scrapped the Conservative’s Rwanda deportation plan when entering office. In March, the prime minister said his government had “returned” 24,000 people who had no right to be in the UK.
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Starmer: 24,000 people returned
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “Britain’s borders are being torn apart under Labour. This year is already the worst on record for small boat crossings after over 10,000 illegal immigrants arrived in Britain, but Labour just sit on their hands.
“Labour scrapped our deterrent before it even started, flung open the door to extremists and criminals, and handed the bill to hardworking taxpayers.
“Under new Conservative leadership, we are serious about tackling this crisis with deliverable reforms, but Labour continue to block these at every turn. Labour’s open-door chaos is a betrayal of the British people, and we will not let them get away with it.”
Mr Philp was part of previous Conservative governments, which also failed to reduce crossings.
Speaking to broadcasters, Mr Farage said: “If this carries on at this rate, by the end of this Labour government another quarter of a million people will have come into this country, many of whom frankly don’t fit our culture or cost us a fortune.”
He claimed that Reform is “the only party” saying that “unless you deport those that come illegally, they will just continue to come”.
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A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
“Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security and Asylum Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.”
The Stacks Asia DLT Foundation has become the first Bitcoin-based organization to establish an official presence in the Middle East, aiming to promote institutional Bitcoin adoption through expanded educational initiatives.
Stacks Asia has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) — one of the world’s fastest-growing financial centers — in a move that could boost the adoption of its Bitcoin (BTC) layer-2 (L2) solution in the Middle East and Asia.
The new partnership will play a “pivotal role” in shaping the future of Bitcoin’s “programmability and adoption” in these regions through educational programs and support for Bitcoin builders, according to an April 28 announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
Through the collaboration, Stacks and the ADGM aim to make it easier for institutions and investors to participate in the growing Bitcoin economy and help set “new standards for regulatory clarity and technical growth” for the rising global Bitcoin capital, according to Kyle Ellicott, executive director at Stacks Asia DLT Foundation.
Related: Crypto options desk QCP Capital wins Abu Dhabi license: Report
“Stacks and ADGM are a powerful combination for accelerating Bitcoin adoption across the Middle East and Asia,” Ellicott told Cointelegraph, adding:
“ADGM has established itself as a world-class global financial hub at the heart of the United Arab Emirates, known as the ‘Capitol of Capital,’ where capital and innovation are brought together to shape the future financial landscape.”
“We’ll be working to enable the launch of educational programs, regional developer communities, and create opportunities for the real-world adoption of Bitcoin-powered applications,” he said.
Starting in May, the foundation will host a series of live and virtual events to “empower institutions” with the knowledge to integrate Bitcoin into their operations and learn about the “opportunity of productive Bitcoin capital,” Ellicott added.
Related: Nomura crypto arm Laser Digital bags Abu Dhabi license
Stacks Foundation pushing for a “progressive” regulatory environment worldwide
As the leading Bitcoin scalability solution, Stacks is also pushing for progressive global regulations that will cement Bitcoin’s role in the future of the financial landscape.
“We’re not just focused locally — our team is engaged in global conversations, advocating for frameworks that balance decentralization, security, innovation, and compliance surrounding the unlocking of Bitcoin capital,” Ellicott said.
A key part of the strategy involves knowledge sharing with local regulatory bodies to build understanding among government officials about Bitcoin’s characteristics and potential economic impact.
The foundation is also developing the Bitcoin Capital Activation Framework, described as a comprehensive policy blueprint to help regulators enable Bitcoin utility in their jurisdictions.
The Stacks Foundation will also launch the Bitcoin Policy Bridge in May, a working group uniting regulators from all key jurisdictions across the Middle East and Asia.
In February, ADGM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to advance the development of distributed ledger technology.
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