LONDON

Leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing have vowed to intensify sanctions against Russia and step up military support for Ukraine.

During a joint press conference in London on Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the coalition would act to take Russia’s oil and gas “off the global market” in a bid to “choke off funding for Russia’s war.”

He is determined to move quickly on releasing funds from Russia’s frozen assets, stressing the importance of using them for reparations to Ukraine, he added.

“We are strengthening Ukraine’s air defense,” Keir said, announcing that the UK would supply Kyiv with additional missiles to bolster protection over the winter months.

He said the coalition would maintain military pressure on President Vladimir Putin and continue work on plans for multinational security arrangements for when peace is achieved.

“Ukraine’s future is our future,” he said. “We are determined to act now to dial up the pressure on Putin and finally bring him to the negotiating table in good faith.”

Starmer also said the Coalition of the Willing and the EU are “all working with President Trump” when asked whether Ukraine could be defended without US backing.

He noted that recent US sanctions have had the most significant impact over the past week, adding that progress has been made in unlocking frozen Russian assets and that additional action is required "on a short timetable."

Keir was joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

'Putin is running out of money, troops, and ideas'

Rutte said he had a “very good meeting” with former US President Donald Trump in Washington two days earlier and that new sanctions on Russia would further increase pressure on the Kremlin.

“In Ukraine, Putin is gaining little ground on the battlefield,” he said. “Marginal gains are coming at great loss. The truth is that Putin is running out of money, troops, and ideas. President Trump said to us very well… they should stop where they are now, and now is the right time to increase the pressure on Russia so we can finally get a fair and just peace for Ukraine.”

“On both sides of the Atlantic, we want this war to end,” Rutte added. “We are moving in the right direction.”

When asked whether the US would allow the transfer of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Rutte said it is up to each of Ukraine’s allies to decide independently what weapons they are willing to provide.

Since July, he added, important weaponry has been supplied by the US to Ukraine.

“The issue remains under review by the president and, of course, that is up to the US to decide,” he concluded.

'Allies must reach solution on reparation loans for Ukraine before Christmas'

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said European funding would further boost Ukraine’s war effort, adding that “significant steps” were taken this week to target Russia’s energy sector.

She said she believed Putin’s strategy has been to wait for Ukraine’s allies to lose resolve, but stressed: “We are willing to continue.”

She also said that allies in the “coalition of the willing” must reach a solution on reparation loans for Ukraine before Christmas.

“We have to work in a way that we have a solution before Christmas Eve so we are able to ensure that we can finance Ukraine for the next years,” Frederiksen said.

“I am sure that we will be able to do that ... and I will wait to have a decision before Christmas Eve," she added.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof claimed that Russia is the “only party rejecting a ceasefire” and insisted that only increased pressure would force Moscow to discuss peace.

"We must step up our energy assistance to help Ukraine and Ukrainians through the winter," he said, warning about the devastating impact Russia's attacks are having on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.