Zelensky warns world must choose ‘Putin or peace’ after Trump ‘dictator’ attack as Starmer backs Ukrainian president

VOLODYMYR Zelenksy has warned the world must either choose "Putin or peace" as Sir Keir Starmer has backed the Ukrainian president.

The brave Ukrainian's fighting words come as Donald Trump blasted Zelensky as a "dictator" and a "moderately successful" comedian.

Following Trump's comments, Zelensky said on Wednesday night: "The future is not with Putin, but with peace.

"And it is a choice for everyone in the world -- and for the powerful -- to be with Putin or with peace.

"We should choose peace. I thank everyone for their support."

Trump hit Zelenksy for not holding an election during the war - but Starmer has now defended the Ukrainian.

The PM spoke to Zelensky on Thursday evening stressing the need for "everyone" to work together, Downing Street has said.

It comes as:

• Zelensky warns world must choose ‘Putin or peace’
• Trump taunts Zelensky as ‘dictator’ in shocking attack
• Ukraine warned Vlad is 'bluffing' over talks with Trump
• Putin blitzed Ukraine leaving 160k without power
• Nato held war games in Romania
• US could withdraw troops from Nato's frontline
• Could the 'Iron General' be the new president on Ukraine?

A spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War II.

“The Prime Minister reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression.”

Zelenksy also said on Thursday he is "counting on Ukrainian unity" as well as the "unity of Europe" and the "pragmatism of America" for victory.

He said Ukraine has wanted an end to the war from "the very first second that" Russia invaded in February 2022 and that he wants a peace deal that will ensure Moscow will not attack again.

"I am confident that we will end it, and with a lasting peace. And so that Russia cannot come to Ukraine again, and so that Ukrainians return from Russian captivity, and so that Ukraine has a future. This is a normal desire of every nation," he said.

In a post on X, Zelensky thanked the UK and Starmer for support saying "we will never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens."

In a speech in Miami, Trump reiterated his post and accused Zelensky of breaking a rare earth deal with the US and said the Ukrainian could have been in Saudia Arabia peace talks "if he wanted to".

Britain and Kyiv's European allies have also vowed to keep Ukraine “in the fight” as the US opens talks with Russia over a Ukraine peace deal.

The UK is set to funnel an extra £1.5 billion until a deal can be agreed with Russia after Donald Trump blasted Zelensky as a "dictator".

In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump blasted him as a "moderately successful" comedian.

The 232 word blast was the 78-year-old's strongest rebuke of Zelensky to date - and made crystal clear that he believes only the US has the clout to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump wrote Zelensky was a "modestly successful comedian" and accused him of having "talked the US into a war that couldn't be won".

He raged the war "never had to start" and said Ukraine could "never be able to settle" the conflict without "the US and TRUMP".

"The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back," wrote Trump.

"Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us.

"We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation."

German leader Olaf Scholz said Trump calling Zelenksy a dictator was "false and dangerous".

"It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelenskiy his democratic legitimacy," Scholz said.

Starmer is hoping to show Trump how European forces could help enforce and protect any peace deal that is secured by the US to deter Russia from breaking the agreement.

But despite suggestions from Trump that Europe needs to be in charge of its own protection, the PM is expected to ask for American jets and weapons to be on standby in Eastern Europe under the plan.

Western officials briefed on the plans have signalled that a peacekeeping force to police a 1000km frontline could be as small as 30,000 troops

A source today warned Ukraine needed more troops to replace their dead and wounded as fighting continues.

They said: “We’re fortunate that at the end the Biden administration was able to put a lot of kit into Ukraine, and that sustains Ukraine all the way through the summer.”

He added: “Ukraine is under a lot of pressure in the east, but Russia is continuing to take massive casualties for tiny gains of territory.”

But they warned: “We know that Ukraine has got to do more with its people.”

European officials are now exploring how they could keep Ukraine fighting if it were to lose the support of the US.

Officials have pledged to send a total of £4.5billion to Ukraine this year after boosting the nation with £3billion each year since the conflict began in 2022.

The additional funding to "keep Ukraine in the fight until they get peace" will be taken from unfrozen Russian assets.

It is thought that the aid will help Ukraine find "peace through strength".

They also signalled that a peacekeeping force could be as small as 30,000 troops to police a 1,000km front line.

Denmark is boosting its military budget by $7billion to over three per cent of GDP.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky said it would take at least 200,000 soldiers to deter a new Russian invasion.

But a senior western official said: “30,000 feels still on the on the high side, because the purpose of that force would be predominantly around reassurance and trying to instil some confidence in the Ukraine population and in the state.”

He said the troops would have specific tasks such as showing the world “that that nuclear power plants are now under an international security umbrella to allow the surveys to take place, to allow the maintenance to be caught up.”

It comes just hours after Zelensky outlined his nation's goal to "end the war this year" as he called for "security guarantees".

It comes as:

• Zelensky said Trump was living in a 'disinformation bubble'
• Trump demanded elections in Ukraine
• Ukraine warned Vlad is 'bluffing' over talks with Trump
• Putin blitzed Ukraine leaving 160k without power
• Nato held war games in Romania
• US could withdraw troops from Nato's frontline
• Could the 'Iron General' be the new president on Ukraine?

The Ukrainian president also said the costs of the war in Ukraine so far sits at $320 billion, with $120 billion paid by Ukraine and the rest from the US and Europe - but Trump disputes the numbers.

He wrote in a post on Truth Social that the US has spent $350billion on supporting Ukraine.

Last week, Zelensky met with US Vice President JD Vance in Munich for crunch talks as relations between the US and Ukraine turn sour.

After the meeting, the Ukrainian president said his country is ready to move towards "real and guaranteed" peace but "not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple of years down the road."

Additional aid has come from the US after former President Joe Biden signed off on sending more than £2billion to Ukraine before he left office.

But Biden's final act is being seen as one of the last shows of support coming from the US after Trump strongly rebuked Zelensky saying he "played Biden like a fiddle".

Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday calling Zelensky a "dictator" and a "moderately successful" comedian.

Ukraine has not held elections since 2019 due to the martial law edict - and Trump has framed Zelensky as an illegitmate leader.

The 78-year-old also accused Zelensky of having "talked the US into a war that couldn't be won" as he seemingly sidelined the nation.

Trump has been attempting to open talks with Vladimir Putin to end the brutal war between Russia and Ukraine.

It is a move that has been blasted by world leaders and sparked concerns for Zelensky, who feels frozen out of talks and has said Ukraine will not accept any deal made without their input.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan slammed Trump's move as "bonkers" while the UK's former defence secretary Ben Wallace also criticised the new president.

Wallace told LBC: "I know Mar-a-Largo is quite close to Disney World, but that was pure Disney in both sort of facts and reality."

Trump's move closer to Russia is signifying efforts to bring Putin back in from the cold.

He has boasted of "successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something...only TRUMP, and the Trump Administration, can do."

US and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to begin peace talks with Europe and Ukraine not having a seat at the table.

There is also set to be a face-to-face summit in the coming weeks between Trump and Vlad.

European leaders have been wrong-footed by Trump's screeching reversal of his predecessor Biden's support for Kyiv.

And now they are scrambling to figure out how - if they can at all - support Ukraine in the fact of a total withdrawal by the US.

Trump's post came just hours after Zelensky blasted the US President - accusing him of living in a "Russian disinformation bubble".

Key European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday after they felt they had been sidelined by the Trump administration following the historic peace talks between the US and Russia.

The UK has continued to stand by Ukraine in a move threatening the special relationship with the US.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path to Nato” and has said that troops could be sent to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force to guarantee Kyiv's security.

On Thursday, the PM said Ukraine had to be part of talks about its future and he also spoke to Trump as the two countries take a different line on Ukraine.

Starmer has vowed that the UK will "do our bit" which is likely to put pressure on allies to also publicly support the idea of a European peacekeeping force in war-torn Ukraine.

Starmer has also suggested that Britain could play a "unique role", acting as a bridge between Europe and the US during the peace process in Ukraine.

Meanwhile US intelligence and its closest allies warn that Putin doesn't plan on abandoning his goal and believes he can outlast Ukraine and Europe to seize full control of the country.

One congressional source told NBC that the US has "zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now".

And a Western intelligence source said that the dictator "thinks he's winning," despite the gargantuan figure of Russian casualties.

Another added that while Putin may agree to a "ceasefire" in Ukraine, it would be for a chilling ulterior motive to rebuild his armed forces.

In a press conference on Friday morning, Zelensky warned the West that Putin is preparing for war against Nato in the next 12 months.