Vladimir Putin trying to starve Ukrainians into giving up in the war but he will fail, says UK’s foreign secretary
Vladimir Putin is trying to freeze and starve Ukraine’s people into giving up this winter by attacking power and water supplies but he will fail, the foreign secretary has told Sky News.
James Cleverly, on his first visit to Ukraine, said he had never seen such devastation before and said it was vital for the UK and other allies to keep up their support until Kyiv “prevails”.
Revealing how he had even briefly experienced a sense of the basic hardship endured by most Ukrainians, the minister said there had been no power or water at the British ambassador’s residence in the capital when he arrived on Wednesday after a barrage of Russian missile strikes against the energy grid.
Putin’s warning for Russian mothers – war latest
“By lunchtime the following day, the water had been repaired and was back up and running,” Mr Cleverly said.
“The speed and the resilience of the people of Kyiv and the people of Ukraine is a wonder to behold, which is why I am confident, with the continued support of the international community, the Ukrainians will prevail.”
The foreign secretary was speaking on Friday in the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of the capital, which was heavily bombarded when Russian forces attempted to storm Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian military, helped by British and other Western weapons, pushed them back, paving the way for efforts to rebuild the shattered lives of civilians – even as the war rages on in the east and the south and with the persistent threat of airstrikes.
Mr Cleverly visited a school, damaged in the onslaught, that is due to reopen next week thanks in part to UK funds.
He also announced further civilian support – on top of weapons – for Ukraine, including 24 ambulances and six armoured vehicles.
The foreign secretary pressed ahead with his Ukraine trip – which included a meeting on Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – even though he was entering the country as Vladimir Putin’s forces struck missiles against energy and water infrastructure.
“I think it is incredibly important that the UK demonstrates to the Ukrainian people – who are bearing the brunt of this brutality from Russia – that we are standing shoulder to shoulder with them,” he said.
Read more:
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The role of Crimea in war for Ukraine – as both sides weigh up battle
Mr Cleverly said the Russian tactic to hurt civilians was a mark of desperation at its failure to succeed on the battlefield.
“Vladimir Putin is targeting their energy infrastructure, their water infrastructure, he is trying to starve and freeze the Ukrainians into submission,” he said.
Mr Cleverly with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba
He added: “What I’ve also seen is those same Ukrainians forcing themselves to go about their lives as normally as possible. These students here in this college were desperate to come back to the classroom, to mix with their friends, to learn.
“There is a resilience and there is a toughness here in Ukraine that we are happy to support and seeing it leaves me in no doubt that the Ukrainians will prevail and that Vladimir Putin will fail in this invasion.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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