Russia has previously said it would respond if Western countries allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with their missiles. President Vladimir Putin said last month that such a decision would mean NATO countries were directly fighting with Russia and that “the very essence of this conflict will be changed”.
Unlike Britain and the United States, France has said Ukraine should be allowed to use its SCALP cruise missiles, the French version of Britain’s Storm Shadow, to strike targets in Russia. It is unclear whether Ukraine has already done so.
Another ally, Italy, where Zelensky met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is staunchly against Ukraine using its Storm Shadows to hit Russia.
However, Meloni said after their talks that Italy was determined to help Ukraine for as long as necessary.
“The aim of our support is to put Ukraine in the best condition possible to set up a negotiating table for peace, a negotiating table that doesn’t mean surrendering, as too many have suggested in a cowardly fashion,” she said.
The meetings in Europe, along with one in Berlin on Friday, were aimed at presenting Ukraine’s position and possibly outlining its requirements for accepting future peace talks after a summit in Germany of its main backers was cancelled when US President Joe Biden pulled out to focus on Hurricane Milton.
Zelensky said after the London meeting that he had spelt out how to create “the right conditions for a just end to the war” without going into detail.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron sought to show that his country is still fully behind Kyiv in its war despite political difficulties at home that have raised questions about how much help France will be able to give in the coming months.
Macron said France would keep to its current commitments, which include €3 billion ($4.8 billion) in support this year. Paris is training and equipping a brigade of 3000 Ukrainian troops and plans to send Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine at the beginning of next year.
“It was important to exchange with the president on the coming weeks and months on military and diplomatic work [to come],” Macron said.