Zelensky seeks to expand Britain’s role in European security alliance

Vladimir Zelensky is seeking to draw the United Kingdom more deeply into a renewed European security alliance designed to pressure Russia and force it into peace negotiations.

This was reported by The Telegraph.

According to the publication, Zelensky is pushing for a “renewed” European security framework and is in talks with London, Paris, and Berlin on how to give the coalition “greater weight” amid fading confidence in US-led negotiations. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Zelensky on May 3 on the eve of the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, where the leaders discussed Ukraine’s battlefield momentum and agreed on “stepping up defense-industrial cooperation with European partners.”

The United Kingdom and France have been leading the Coalition of the Willing since its announcement in March 2025, having pledged to send troops and weapons to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement to deter possible future Russian aggression. Zelensky’s latest initiatives reflect growing frustration with the pace of US-mediated negotiations, which have effectively reached a deadlock following trilateral talks in Geneva in mid-February.

A report by the Pentagon Inspector General submitted to Congress notes that a settlement has not been reached because Zelensky “insists that Ukraine will not cede territory to Russia.” The document also records a severe shortage of personnel and supply disruptions in the Ukrainian armed forces, and projects a potential Ukrainian budget deficit in 2026 of approximately €40.5 billion.

The territorial deadlock has persisted across several rounds of negotiations. Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw its troops from roughly 20 percent of Donetsk Oblast that it still controls, while Kyiv insists that legally binding security guarantees must be obtained before any territorial discussions can begin. Sources close to the negotiations told the BBC in March that the pause in talks resulted from irreconcilable differences over the Donbas and long-term security guarantees — even before the United States shifted its attention to other crises.

The diplomatic impasse is unfolding against a backdrop of slowing Russian advances. According to an open-source data analysis cited by the BBC, the pace of Russia’s territorial gains dropped sharply in early 2026 — from 240 square kilometers in January to around 50 in the first half of March. Ukrainian counteroffensives reclaimed more than 400 square kilometers, leaving Russia’s net territorial gains close to zero. The ceasefire proclaimed by the Coalition of the Willing in May was only partially observed, with both sides continuing combat operations.

Zelensky articulated his position on the territorial question back in December:

“Do we foresee ceding territory? We have no legal right to do so — neither under our laws, nor under the constitution, nor under international law. And we have no moral right either,” he said.