Zelenskyy

By JILL LAWLESS AND ILLIA NOVIKOV | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met British, French and German leaders in London on Monday in a show of European support for Ukraine at what they called a "critical moment" in the U.S.-led effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader's 10 Downing St. residence to try to strengthen Ukraine's hand amid mounting impatience from U.S. President Donald Trump.

After the meeting, Starmer, Zelenskyy and the other leaders called Kyiv's European allies, urging them to keep up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war," Starmer's office said in a statement.

"This is the furthest we've got in four years, and we welcome the fact that these talks are continuing at every level," said Starmer's spokesman, Tom Wells. He added that "intensive work" will continue in the days ahead, although "there are still outstanding issues."

Macron's office said the session allowed the leaders "to continue joint work on the U.S. plan in order to complement it with European contributions, in close coordination with Ukraine."