Days after British troops seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel, Keir Starmer has arrived at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains vowing to “choke off” Moscow’s revenue with a fresh wave of sanctions and a £210m nuclear energy deal for Ukraine.
The prime minister, still reeling from a torrid political week at home, used the opening of the Group of Seven gathering on the shore of Lake Geneva to put himself on the front foot. On Tuesday, the first full day of talks, he is expected to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
“Keir Starmer announces fresh sanctions on Russia and £210m nuclear energy support for Ukraine at G7 summit.”
Starmer’s latest package of measures targets Russia’s illicit shadow fleet — following the weekend interception of the tanker Smyrtos — as well as the finance networks that help Moscow circumvent western sanctions and arm its military. The UK will also impose an embargo on vessels moving sanctioned Russian liquefied natural gas.
“Russia’s aggression threatens not just Ukraine, but the security of all Europe,” Starmer said. “That is why the U.K. is stepping up — choking off the revenues that fuel Putin’s war and powering Ukraine through the winters ahead.”
Alongside the sanctions, Starmer announced a £210m investment via UK Export Finance to support the British-based uranium enrichment company Urenco, which is 33% owned by the UK government. The deal, agreed with Zelenskyy at Downing Street last week, will supply enriched uranium to Ukraine’s state nuclear power producer, Energoatom, for the next two years.
“We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes and this announcement reinforces that,” Starmer said. “Putin should roll back his tanks, end his barbaric strikes and come to the negotiating table.”
The prime minister also used the summit to reassure US president Donald Trump that he is willing to raise defence spending, after the resignation of defence secretary John Healey and ongoing delays to his defence investment plan. No bilateral meeting with Trump is expected, but the investment plan is now due to be published before the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, which begins on 7 July.
The G7’s first session focused on building peace and security for Ukraine and Europe. Starmer is expected to tell fellow leaders that the group should collectively go further to ensure Ukraine secures a just and lasting peace.