It came as PM Keir Starmer travelled to Berlin on Monday evening for talks with Ukraine's war-time leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies over a peace deal
20:06, 15 Dec 2025Updated 20:28, 15 Dec 2025
Keir Starmer and European leaders have set out six key commitments to support Ukraine if a peace deal is struck with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
It includes "significant support" to Kyiv to build its armed forces, which they said should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000. It came as Mr Starmer travelled to Berlin on Monday evening for talks with Ukraine's war-time leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies.
Earlier the PM had warned a botched peace deal for Kyiv risks paving the way for worse conflict as pressure mounts from Donald Trump to end the war. The Prime Minister said the UK cannot "let up" in its support for Kyiv and warned the UK must be "alert to that ever-present danger from Russia". Speaking to the Commons Liaison Committee on Monday, he said: "History is littered with peace agreements in Europe which people had faith in but in the end fell apart and led to even worse conflicts."
A joint statement from the PM and almost a dozen allies - including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz - tonight welcomed "significant progress" in efforts to secure peace in the bloody conflict. The leaders of 10 countries and the EU said they and the US had "committed to work together to provide robust security guarantees and economic recovery support measures for Ukraine".
They include "sustained and significant support to Ukraine to build its armed forces", which the leaders said should remain at 800,000. This is to "deter conflict and defend Ukraine's territory," they added.
The leaders reiterated their vow to build a "Coalition of the Willing" supported by the US which will secure Ukraine's skies and seas. The joint statement also said they will "strongly support Ukraine's accession to the European Union " but made no reference to Nato membership.
The statement added: "The leaders expressed their support for President Zelenskyy and agreed to support whatever decisions he ultimately makes on specific Ukrainian issues. They reaffirmed that international borders must not be changed by force. Decisions on territory are for the people of Ukraine, once robust security guarantees are effectively in place.
"They agreed that some issues would need to be resolved in the final stages of negotiations. They underlined that they would support President Zelenskyy to consult his people if needed."
The six key commitments - in full
- Provide sustained and significant support to Ukraine to build its armed forces, which should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000 to be able to deter conflict and defend Ukraine’s territory.
- A European-led ‘multinational force Ukraine’ made up from contributions from willing nations within the framework of the Coalition of the Willing and supported by the US. It will assist in the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, in securing Ukraine’s skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine.
- A US led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism with international participation to provide early warning of any future attack and attribute and respond to any breaches along with a deconfliction mechanism to work on mutual deescalatory actions that can be taken to benefit all parties.
- A legally binding commitment, subject to national procedures, to take measures to restore peace and security in the case of a future armed attack. These measures may include armed force, intelligence and logistical assistance, economic and diplomatic actions.
- Invest in the future prosperity of Ukraine, including making major resources available for recovery and reconstruction, mutually beneficial trade agreements, and taking into account the need for Russia to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused. In this vein, Russian sovereign assets in the European Union have been immobilised.
- Strongly support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.