Wes Streeting Ukraine appeal: UK defence secretary urges US to stand by Kyiv in Washington visit
On his Washington visit, defence secretary Wes Streeting made the case for continued US support for Ukraine, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies before meeting his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.
Wes Streeting Ukraine appeal: UK defence secretary urges US to stand by Kyiv in Washington visit
A case for staying the course
Wes Streeting, making his Ukraine appeal on US soil, argued that backing Kyiv serves Washington's own long-term interests, and described it as a business opportunity. He told the audience there had rarely been a more important time for Britain and America to come together.
He framed the war as a matter of principle: the people of Ukraine, he said, are fighting for an idea that runs through the finest traditions of American political thought - that a free people have a right to determine their own destiny.
"the consequences will not remain confined to Ukraine or to my continent"
That warning came with his argument that if aggression is rewarded and borders can be redrawn by force, the effects will spread well beyond Europe.
Starlink row hangs over the visit
The trip was prompted by the US government's sudden decision on Monday to limit the use of Starlink by Ukraine's military. The change took effect without warning at about 1am, when Ukrainian soldiers reported that drone terminals stopped working at speeds above 100mph, leaving communications inoperable.
The disruption had immediate operational consequences:
- Mid-strike drone attacks on targets in Russian-occupied territories came to a dramatic halt.
- It raised concerns about Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian jet-powered attack craft bombing Ukrainian cities.
After meeting Hegseth, Streeting told the BBC he had been reassured directly that access to Starlink had been restored. He said it was not yet clear to the UK why the disruption occurred, and noted it was not the first falling out between Washington and Kyiv.
Wider agenda for the meeting
The talks were not only about Ukraine. The meeting was also expected to cover:
- The safety of US military bases in the UK, after an Iranian threat prompted the US to withdraw B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
- Whether the two countries would come together to help Saudi Arabia, which has come under attack from Yemen's Houthis.
Backdrop of strained ties
Streeting arrived a day after Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Donald Trump's move against the Starlink system his forces rely on had left him feeling betrayed in person. Ukrainian officials also reported that the US had threatened to cut the sharing of intelligence used by Ukraine to detect incoming missiles, unless Ukraine abandoned attacks on Russian refineries.
According to the report, Trump has been pressuring Ukraine to halt its bombing of Russian oil refineries in what was described as an attempt to reduce world oil prices before the US midterm elections. He agreed to buy diesel from Russia earlier this month. Since returning to the White House, Trump has vacillated over supporting Ukraine against Russia, and support for Kyiv among US Republicans has been mixed.
Streeting said American support in Ukraine had been significant and had made a real impact, and that the UK and Ukrainians would feel its absence. In London on Wednesday, British prime minister Andy Burnham, meeting Zelenskyy, said the UK would stand by Ukraine.
After meeting Hegseth, Streeting told the BBC he had been reassured directly that Starlink access for Ukraine's military had been restored, though it remained unclear to the UK why the disruption occurred.
