Donald Trump’s administration has halted weapon shipments to Ukraine, sparking major concern in Kyiv – but delight in Moscow.
The White House said the move followed fears that the US is facing stockpile issues with its arsenal after a recent Department of Defence review.
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The US has subsequently decided to “put America’s interests first”, according to the White House.
The Pentagon allegedly chose to halt shipments of critical US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons in June but the decision only came to light overnight.
The White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly batted away suggestions this threw America’s military into question, saying: ”[The decision] was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe.
“The strength of the United States armed forces remains unquestioned – just ask Iran.”
Ukraine said it did not receive any official notification from the US over the suspension of the military aid.
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“Ukraine has not received official notices regarding the suspension or revision of the delivery schedules of agreed defense assistance,” the Ukrainian defence ministry said in a statement.
Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even claimed on Wednesday that “deliveries continue”.
He added: “It would look very strange and inhumane to stop supplying missiles for Patriot systems that protect Ukrainian civilians.”
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Ukraine’s foreign ministry has subsequently summoned the US Charge d-Affaires John Ginkel over the reported pause.
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa also warned: “Any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities will only encourage Russia to continue war and terror, rather than pursue peace.”
But Russia was delighted by the news. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “The fewer weapons that are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the [war].”
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Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine in recent months, launching a record 5,337 drones in June – the highest total since Vladimir Putin first invaded in 2022.
The Russian president also claimed “all of Ukraine is ours” just last week, suggesting his land grab is far from over.
More than 18,000 Russian soldiers have been reported to the courts for being absent without leave since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the UK says.
According to the latest update on X from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), 18,159 troops have been faced with a decade-long prison sentence for going AWOL between February 2022 and May 2025.
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That is a criminal offence in Russia and a staggering 17,721 (86.2%) of those soldiers were prosecuted.
Citing Russian independent news outlet Mediazona, the MoD said a further 2,379 soldiers were reported to the courts for desertion or refusing orders.
The British officials pointed out there are multiple reasons a soldier could desert.
“Brutal discipline in the Russian Armed Forces, poor medical treatment for injured soldiers and inadequate military training all likely contribute,” the MoD said.
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Putin’s soldiers could end up serving on the frontline against Ukraine within 14 days of signing a contract – and just five days of relevant military training.
The MoD continued: “This all runs counter to the official narrative that the Russian leadership values the military service of those who fight in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
“It is a realistic possibility that those prosecuted could commute their sentence by serving in the Russian Storm-Z convict assault units.”
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There have been multiple reports of low morale among Russian troops ever since Putin invaded.
In 2023, UK intelligence suggested thousands of Russian casualties in Ukraine were linked to “alcohol consumption” and that soldiers could be “coerced” into joining to boost recruitment numbers.
Despite this chaos within the Russian forces, Putin is still dragging his heels over possible ceasefire talks with Ukraine – even when US mediators suggest terms more favourable to Moscow than Kyiv.
Nato’s joint statement from this year’s summit barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine this year, even though Vladimir Putin’s war continues to rage.
Ever since the Russian president ordered the invasion of his European neighbour in February 2022, Nato allies have offered unwavering support to Ukraine and repeatedly condemned Putin’s aggression.
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But at this year’s meeting at The Hague – the first Nato summit since Donald Trump was re-elected – member states appear to have prioritised bending to the US president’s will.
The watered down statement seemed to be part of a wider strategy to win over Trump, a prominent Nato sceptic, and prevent him from fulfilling his past threats of pulling out of the alliance altogether.
The statement also focused on member states’ collective pledge to increase its defence spending target from its current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% – although 1.5% of that sum could be spent on things like infrastructure.
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That hike in defence spending comes amid wider concerns that Putin may push further into Europe with his ongoing land grab in Ukraine.
But the statement mainly credited Trump for the uptick in national security spending after he insisted that the continent stop relying on American military power.
It’s likely allies tried to avoid mentioning Putin’s aggression in to appease Trump, who is closer to Putin than Joe Biden ever was.
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Meanwhile, Trump was able to go as far as to using his platform at Nato to praise Putin’s “kindness” after his Russian counterpart offered to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict.
The US president told reporters at the summit: “I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, ‘No, I don’t need help on Iran. I need help on Russia. Do me a favour. Help us with Russia, not with Iran.’”
But he later said: “Maybe I’ll talk to Putin to stop the war.”
Asked if he thinks Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, he said: “Maybe. I mean, it’s possible. What I know is this: Putin would like to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine. He’d like to get out of it. It’s a mess for him.”
He added: “No, I think Putin is someone who, in my view, just went off course. Honestly, I’m very surprised. I thought we would’ve settled this easily.”
Trump initially promised to resolve the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the Oval Office.
Five months later, his efforts to force Russia to the negotiating table have fallen flat as Putin continues to drag his heels, even after Trump offered a truce on terms favourable to Moscow.
The US president did have a brief meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodmyr Zelensky at the Nato summit.
The president later said: “I didn’t discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine with Zelensky. I just wanted to see how he was doing. We had tough times, but he was very kind. I was glad to see him. It was a wonderful meeting. I think this is a great time to end the war.”
Despite the disappointing joint statement and Trump’s warmth towards Putin, individual member states did re-iterate their ongoing support for Ukraine.
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UK prime minister Keir Starmer has made it clear that Britain is still a prominent ally to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
He said: “This summit has sent a decisive message to aggressors and that must be matched by our commitment to Ukraine.
“And that’s why I have announced this week that the UK is providing hundreds more air defence missiles to protect the Ukrainian people, paid for, not by the British taxpayer – but with money from frozen Russian assets.”
Trump using the NATO Summit as platform to tell us of Putin’s kindness, the day after he massacred 20 people and injured another 300 in Dnipro.
“We’ll see. I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, “No, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/g5PynNTMAd
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I said, “No, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/g5PynNTMAd— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 25, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":687,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GuSJ3cNWEAAktj0.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1283,"title":"Jay in Kyiv on Twitter / 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Trump using the NATO Summit as platform to tell us of Putin’s kindness, the day after he massacred 20 people and injured another 300 in Dnipro.
“We’ll see. I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, “No, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/g5PynNTMAd
","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Alex Wickham","author_url":"https://twitter.com/alexwickham","cache_age":86400,"description":"Keir Starmer suggests Trump supports a new push to pressure Russia‘The mood of pretty well all participants… was one of recognising that we need to now push harder on Ukraine’Trump said in closed meeting something had to be done because situation is “totally out of control” pic.twitter.com/CxC1CXCSH2— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) June 25, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":2048,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GuSpf05XsAAyj6W.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1536,"title":"Alex Wickham on Twitter / 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A senior figure within Vladimir Putin’s government has once again been pushing the Kremlin’s conspiracy theories about the West – but this time, she could not even explain the logic behind them.
The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the West is “not interested” in its own citizens and instead wants to “escalate” the Ukraine war on Wednesday.
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According to Russian state news agency TASS, she said: “They are not interested in the lives of their own people, the development of the economy, solving problems that are on the agenda of both the European continent and the whole world.
“They are interested in the escalation of the conflict and the continued use of the Kyiv regime and Ukraine for their own interests.”
She then added: “But what are these goals? It’s a good question to ask them.
“All this testifies to the aggressive attitude of the western European allies of the Kyiv regime, their maniacal desire to escalate the conflict at any price.”
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According to Zakharova, it’s clear that the European Commission’s €150bn rearmament programme is “direct proof” they want to take the war to the next level.
The Kremlin spokesperson is overlooking that the west has actually tried to avoid being drawn directly into conflict with Russia for the last three years.
European allies have been investing and arming Ukraine to try and halt Putin’s land grab encroaching further into the continent.
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Russia currently controls 18% of Ukrainian territory and has so far refused to agree to any long-term ceasefire deals.
The war could also end if Putin decided to pull his troops out of Ukraine.
US president Donald Trump has also tried to put pressure on both sides to end the war – even if it means resolving it on Putin’s terms – but Moscow keeps coming up with new conditions for peace.
Despite bombarding Ukraine consistently since invading in February 2022, Putin’s ambassador to the UK also accused Kyiv of intensifying the war last week after Ukraine deployed more than 100 attack drones across Russia.
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Speaking to Sky News, Andrei Kelin said this was a “serious escalation” and claimed the UK had helped orchestrate the attack.
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters: “We’ve been round this a few times this week, we just don’t comment on operational matters.”
It included plans to build up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines, six new munitions factories and thousands more long-range weapons.
The authors of the SDR have made it clear defence spending will have to increase to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) for its recommendations to be carried out.
However, Starmer has refused to guarantee that the government will hit that target in the next parliament.
So broadcaster Andrew Neil suggested on Monday that Russia would be “smiling” over the spending plans.
Speaking on Times Radio, he said: “Without a firm commitment to raising defence spending to 3% of GDP early in the next parliament, the defence review is barely worth the paper it’s written on.
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“If they don’t put Britain on a war-footing now, the new subs won’t be deployed for at least a decade – by which time, we could all be speaking Russian.”
“The Kremlin must be smiling,” he added.
Former head of the army General Sir Patrick Sanders also told Times Radio he is “really worried” the government is not acting fast enough.
Asked what he believes Putin will be thinking now, Sanders said: “This is one of Europe’s greatest powers, it’s the one that has been the greatest thorn in my side when it comes to challenging me on Ukraine and supporting the Ukrainians, but it doesn’t appear yet to have woken up to the fact that it is not just Ukraine’s fight, this is Europe’s fight and Europe are threatened by Russia.
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“We’ve got to be able to deter Russia because that is so much cheaper than fighting a war with them,” he said.
Keir Starmer delivers his speech during a visit to the BAE Systems’Govan facility, in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday June 2, 2025.
via Associated Press
Former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace also told LBC this morning that Putin will now think the west are “not serious”.
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“Putin knows more than anyone how much the war is costing,” Wallace said. “And he will say two things; one, that the west aren’t serious because they’re not really spending the money, and secondly, what we see in Ukraine, is that the west aren’t serious enough because it doesn’t want to put young people in harm’s way and young people are not joining their Armed Forces.”
Pointing to the government’s reluctance to set a time frame for spending 3% of GDP on defence, he said: “Imagine conversations in the Kremlin where they say, ‘no, no, it’s an ambition’.”
Wallace claimed the government has now “resorted to spin and claiming other people’s policies” too, adding: “That is a regret.”
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Senior consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, Keir Giles, agreed that the “biggest question mark”over the SDR is over how it will be funded.
“With Keir Starmer still refusing to commit to the funding level that is required as a baseline for the review’s recommendations to be met, it will take a change of heart in government to make use of [the SDR’s] most important findings,” Giles told HuffPost UK.
He added: “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
Trump has tried to force both Ukraine and Russia to negotiate an end to the war even though the conflict was triggered by Putin’s land grab in 2022.
The US president has often expressed sympathy towards Russia’s aggression and suggested Ukraine will have to concede land in the name of peace.
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However, four months after Trump formally took office, Putin is yet to agree to even a 30-day ceasefire.
Even so, after Trump’s sudden rant against Putin on his social media platform Truth Social, the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clearly tried to strike a more conciliatory tone in his response.
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He said: “Of course, the start of the negotiation process, for which the American side made a lot of effort, is a very important achievement and we are truly grateful to the Americans and personally to President Trump for their help in organising and launching this negotiation process.
“It’s a very important achievement. Of course, at the same time this is a very important moment which is connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved and emotional reactions.
“We carefully monitor all the reactions. However, President Putin takes those decisions which are necessary for the security of our country.
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“We all witnessed how the Kyiv regime threatened foreign leaders before they came to Moscow to commemorate Victory Day. Everyone heard these threats by the Kyiv regime.
“And many leaders who were here witnessed attempts by the Kyiv regime to strike Russian territory with drones, large cities, even the capital, on the eve of such an important day. These attempts continue. We are forced to take measures and President Putin does what is necessary to provide security for Russia.”
The response completely overlooked the US president’s renewed threat of imposing fresh sanctions on Russia.
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Trump told reporters on Sunday night he was “absolutely” considering new
He continued: “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him.
“But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.”
Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch appears to have been praised by the Russian Embassy in London, after she said on Sunday that Ukraine was fighting “a proxy war” against Russia on western Europe’s behalf.
Her remarks were then quoted approvingly by the Embassy, which said Badenoch had “finally called a spade a spade”.
At Donald Trump’s insistence, Zelenskyy flew to Turkey for the first face-to-face discussions between Ukraine and Russia since early 2022, when Putin invaded.
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However, the Russian leader has snubbed Kyiv by choosing not to attend Thursday’s negotiations in Istanbul – despite personally suggesting the direct talks between the warring countries last week.
When the Kremlin confirmed Putin was simply sending a low-calibre delegation in his place, Zelenskyy told reporters it was clear Moscow was not “serious” about ending the war.
“Russia does not feel that it needs to end [the war], which means there is not enough political, economic and other pressure on the Russian Federation,” the Ukrainian president said.
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“And so we ask, if there is no ceasefire, if there are no serious decisions… we ask for appropriate sanctions.”
Zelenskyy still sent a delegation headed up by Ukraine’s defence minister for the talks in Istanbul but stayed in Ankara himself for talks with his Turkish counterpart.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, Putin’s top diplomat was less than happy with the Ukrainian president’s attack on the Kremlin.
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Speaking on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said: “First, Zelenskyy made some statements demanding that Putin attend in person. A nothing man. It’s clear to everyone – except perhaps to him and those pulling his strings.”
The Kremlin has been trying to discredit Zelenskyy ever since launching a full-scale invasion on Ukraine more than three years ago.
Putin’s false claim that Zelenskyy is not a legitimate president was even picked up by Trump earlier this year, as the American president claimed he is a “dictator without elections.”
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But once Moscow started to drag its heels over negotiations, Trump began to accuse Putin of not wanting to end the war.
The Ukrainian president also pointed out on Thursday that Trump has been pressuring Kyiv “more than the Russians”.
He said: “You have to pressurise the side that does not want to end the war. The position of Turkey and the United States, you saw that President Trump thought it would help to pressurise both sides – I think they pressurised us more than the Russians.
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“Ukraine is fighting for itself. We are not ready to lose our lives and land. That does not mean we are aggressors.”
After his Russian counterpart offered to “resume negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war in Turkey last week, the Ukrainian president agreed – as long as there was a “full and lasting ceasefire”.
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Writing on X, Zelenskyy said: “We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting or Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look excuses.”
The Kremlin has not directly responded to the Ukrainian president’s remarks but a Russian senator dismissed them altogether on Monday.
Speaking to Rossiya-24 TV broadcast, the federation council’s deputy speaker, Konstantin Kosachev, said: “It’s pure theatrics, a total farce.
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“That’s not how high high-level meetings are arranged, especially given the seriousness of the situation.”
The senator claimed this would be an “impromptu” meeting and that is not the way to conduct such important negotiations.
He said: “Zelenskyy should known this from his own bitter experience, when he came unprepared to his meeting with President Trump in the White House in February, ending in a complete fiasco for him.”
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The Ukrainian president was actually very prepared for his meeting in the White House in February, but he had to cut the visit short after Trump and his vice-president JD Vanceberated him in front of the press.
At the time Trump was much more aligned with the Kremlin but he has since improved his relationship with Kyiv, and has even questioned if Putin really does want to stop the war.
Even though it was the Russian president who suggested further peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday, Kosachev claimed Zelensky is trying to “turn the tables” on Russia so he can call Putin uncooperative.
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The senior Russian politician continued: “Zelensky does not need a meeting with the Russian president now. He should be afraid of meeting with him. And I am sure that he is afraid, because, as Mr Trump rightly says, he holds no cards. It is true, and Zelensky is in a terrible situation.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov just told reporters that Putin is serious about peace talks.
“This approach, aimed precisely at finding a real diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, eliminating the root causes of the conflict and establishing lasting peace, has met with understanding and support from the leaders of many countries.”
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He cut off any further questions by saying: “That’s all. I’ve said everything I could about this story.”
Vladimir Putin has offered to start peace talks with Ukraine after renewed pressure from Kyiv’s western allies.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed his words but made it clear he would only negotiate if a ceasefire were implemented first – the Russian president has refused to agree to any lengthy truce so far.
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So could this be the beginning of the end of the Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine, or is this – as some fear – just another manipulation tactic from the Kremlin?
Here’s what we know.
What has Putin said?
Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Turkey.
“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said overnight on Sunday. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”
Even though he started the conflict by invading Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian president said the talks should focus on the “root causes” of the war.
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The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed Russia was “provoked” into the conflict, pointing to Nato’s expansion since the fall of the Berlin Wall, although to Ukraine and its allies, it was an imperialistic land grab.
Putin then made a dig at the West, saying: “The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”
While Putin insisted Russia no longer needs preconditions for any such talks, the Kremlin has already said Western arms going to Ukraine would need to stop during any ceasefire, otherwise “it will be an advantage” for Kyiv.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed: “Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones. So why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?”
What’s changed?
It comes after European leaders – including Keir Starmer – met in Ukraine over the weekend and threatened to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia if Putin did not agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire this Monday.
From left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz make a call to U.S. President Donald Trump from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
via Associated Press
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Although Putin dismissed these “boorish” demands as “ultimatums”, he may have felt forced to show he was willing for the conflict to end – especially as his relations with Donald Trump are starting to strain.
Putin has been dragging his heels, offering very few concessions, despite Trump’s push for a quick resolution to the war.
Russia’s previous attempts at ceasefires have been short-lived.
A promise to stop attacking energy infrastructure, a brief Easter ceasefire in April and a three-day pause this week during the 80th anniversary of World War 2 have all failed.
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Ukraine called the latest attempted truce a “farce” and manipulation from Moscow.
Despite these failures, the White House appeared to be willing for the conflict to end on Putin’s terms and considered handed over occupied Ukrainian land to Russia in the name of peace.
Yet Putin still played for time – and Trump has in recent weeks expressed more frustration with the Russian president, having been incredibly sympathetic.
“President Putin is doing whatever is possible to solve the problem, to achieve a settlement through peaceful and diplomatic means. But having no peaceful and diplomatic means at hand, we have to continue the military operation,” he said.
But does he actually want peace?
What does Russia want?
It’s likely Putin will want to retain as much Ukraine as possible – he currently holds a fifth of the country – and will try to neutralise it by removing its military.
Last June, the president said Ukraine should drop its Nato ambitions and called for it to pull all of its troops out of occupied areas to end the war.
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Russian officials have also suggested the US recognise Russia’s control over parts of Ukraine and called for Ukraine to stay neutral, although that does not mean it could not join EU.
Putin has mentioned the 2022 draft deal which was negotiated after Putin’s initial invasion.
It sees Ukraine agree to permanent neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from the UK, China, France, Russia and the US (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council).
Putin claims it was not Russia who broke off those negotiations but Ukraine “at the insistence of the West”.
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Does anyone think Moscow is being serious?
Trump welcomed the change in tune from the Kremlin.
He wrote on Truth Social: “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine! Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully coms to an end.”
Zelenskyy also appeared to welcome the news – but he reminded Putin he only wanted to commit to talks if a ceasefire were in place.
He said on X: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”
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But he added: “And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire. There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day.
“We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
Ukraine’s allies also seemed more wary than Trump.
Starmer said on Saturday, “if he [Putin] is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it”.
UK home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News: “We need a serious response from Russia, they started this illegal invasion of Ukraine and everyone wants to see peace in Ukraine, and now we’ve had the huge international pressure calling for ceasefire, we do need to see a serious response from the Russia regime.
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“That so far has been lacking, I hope that they will now take that seriously.”
“It’s a first step but it’s not enough. An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations,” French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters.
However, as author of Putin’s War on Ukraine Samuel Ramani told Times Radio: “That’s exactly the trap that the Russians are trying to set for Zelenskyy. By not going ahead with the ceasefire, but then making an offer of talks, [they are] setting up a situation where Zelenskyy rejects it.”
“That’s exactly the trap that the Russians are trying to set for Zelensky. By not going ahead with the ceasefire, but then making an offer of talks, [they are] setting up a situation where Zelensky rejects it.”
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“That’s exactly the trap that the Russians are trying to set for Zelensky. By not going ahead with the ceasefire, but then making an offer of talks, [they are] setting up a situation where Zelensky rejects it.”
A new Reform UK council leader has called the Ukraine war a “distraction”.
Linden Kemkaran, named leader of Kent County Council a week after Reform UK’s sweeping victories in the local elections, appeared to downplay the impact of the largest conflict in Europe since World War 2.
Speaking after she was named as council leader on Thursday evening, she promised to remove the Ukrainian flag from the chamber.
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Kemkaran told the BBC: “This is Kent country council. We are here to represent the residents of Kent.
“A foreign war being fought thousands of miles away is simply a distraction.
“We are here to serve the people of Kent. That’s what we were elected on. That is what we are going to do.”
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The councillor said Ukrainian people are “amazing” who have contributed to British society, “but a flag doesn’t change any of that”.
Kemkaran continued: “You have to understand that we won a massive majority and we have absolute, ultimate control.”
She was chosen as the council leader from six potential candidates, after a total of 57 Reform councillors were elected.
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But, when pressed about her plans for the council, she said: “This is my first day in a brand new job and you wouldn’t expect me to have all the answers.
“We are going to get the auditors to come in and take a leaf out of Elon Musk’s book and appoint some sort of DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] to go through everything in detail and find out where the money is being spent and whether we can make any changes and make life better for the residents.”
When Yusuf first announced Reform’s plans to change council flags on Monday, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp accused the party of “sucking up to Moscow”.
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He said: “It tells you all you need to know about Nigel Farage’s Reform that their very first act after winning elections is to ban the Ukrainian flag from our town halls, in this of all weeks.
