Zelenskyy thanks UK for intercepting Russian shadow fleet oil tanker after armed forces board vessel in English Channel - UK politics live

From 13m agoUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the UK for intercepting a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel, describing it as an “important step”.“It was Russia’s hubris, fuelled by high oil and gas revenues, that paved the way for this war, and every decision by partners that deprives Russia of money also limits the war itself” he wrote in a post on X, in which he personally thanked the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and “all Britons”.He added in his post: “And Europe urgently needs to take legislative steps to enable not only the detention of tankers and restrictions on oil shipments, but also the confiscation of the oil they carry.

This will certainly help bring peace closer.”Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside 10 Downing Street ahead of talks on ongoing support for Ukraine on 7 June 2026. Photograph: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockAlong with France, the UK is leading the so-called “coalition of the willing” initiative to carve out security guarantees for Kyiv as part of any future peace deal with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected negotiation proposals and has so far been sticking to his maximalist positions.Over the four years since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion, the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has remained largely static as drone warfare hinders advances. The US-Israel war on Iran has shifted critical resources and diplomatic attention away from Ukraine over the last few months.

Key events13m agoVolodymyr Zelenskyy thanks UK for intercepting Russian shadow fleet oil tanker2h agoNandy agrees with Burnham on cutting welfare in order to fund defence2h agoCulture secretary says she agrees with some of what former defence minister said in resignation letter3h agoBritish forces intercept Russian shadow fleet vessel in English ChannelAl Carns, who quit as armed forces minister earlier in the week and is now being tipped as a potential Labour leadership race contender, has been speaking on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday Politics programme.“I’ve been told that the prime minister has got a bank account and also a company ready to fight a leadership contest, so he’s all set up and ready to go. Have you done that?”

Kuenssberg put to the former minister.Carns dodged answering the question directly and responded by saying: “What I would like to see, whatever happens in the future, is a really clear and concise policy debate about the big ideas and the courage to take those big ideas forward for the next three years.”View image in fullscreenAl Carns said Labour needs an open debate about the country’s direction.

Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAAn open leadership contest would favour contenders like former health secretary Wes Streeting, although many in the party would prefer to avoid a lengthy and bruising inward facing contest. Instead, they are hoping Andy Burnham replace Keir Starmer in an orderly way if he wins the upcoming Makerfield byelection, one of the most consequential in British political history.The shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, suggested that he “accepts” the Conservative party didn’t do enough on defence when they were in power between 2010 and 2024.

Referring to former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace saying his party left the armed forces “hollowed out” and underfunded, he told Sky News: double quotation markI accept we were part of that, but it was about successive governments since the end of the Cold War... since 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down, defence spending has fallen year on year because we thought we had peace. That is clearly not the case.

We can all accept that. I am very proud of what we did in government to support Ukraine – we led the world on that. View image in fullscreenShadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Tories are willing to work with Labour to push through welfare cuts to fund more defence spending.

Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PAThe current government has committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. But the former defence secretary John Healey said the defence investment plan presented to him would prove too slow given growing and diversifying threats to UK security, with defence spending rising to just 2.

68% in 2030 after hitting 2.6% next year.It is understood the deal offered by the Treasury did not set a date for increasing spending to 3%, and had tried to force the MoD to plan to only reach that figure in 2034/35.

Defence spending increased during the Cold War, peaking in the mid-1980s, but then successive governments oversaw a period of decline after the conflict ended, with the army, navy and air force contracting as strategic priorities shifted.Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has posted this on X: double quotation markI pay tribute to the brave Royal Marine Commandos who boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker overnight in the English Channel. Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine is funded by their oil exports i