According to 10 Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the afternoon of 3 June 2026 and told him that the UK’s thoughts were with Ukraine after the strikes earlier in the week. The published readout said the Prime Minister also discussed negotiations and restated that the UK would work with President Zelenskyy and international partners towards what Downing Street described as a just and lasting peace. (gov.uk)
The brevity of the statement is itself part of the message. On the published account, London is not setting out a separate negotiating track or fresh conditions of its own; the emphasis is on staying aligned with Kyiv as diplomacy moves on. In practice, that signals a continuation of the UK line that any settlement effort must remain closely tied to Ukraine’s own position rather than be framed over its head. (gov.uk)
The leaders also discussed what Downing Street called the latest tranche of UK sanctions on Russia. The most recent public package before the call was published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on 26 May and comprised 18 designations aimed at crypto and illicit finance networks used to evade sanctions, including the Kremlin-backed A7 network. The FCDO said the package was intended to close down payment routes and financial infrastructure helping to sustain Russia’s war economy. (gov.uk)
The published designation list shows where ministers are applying pressure. Most of the 26 May names were grouped around support for the Russian financial sector, the making available of funds or goods to that sector, or business judged to be of economic significance to the Russian state. The accompanying sanctions notice shows that some targets face not only asset freezes but also correspondent banking or internet services restrictions, while designated individuals can also face travel bans and director disqualification sanctions. (gov.uk)
For banks, payment firms, exporters and compliance teams, that matters more than the brevity of the call itself. The statutory Russia sanctions guidance updated on 20 May sets out a regime spanning designations, financial restrictions, trade controls, transport measures, immigration sanctions, licensing and enforcement. The latest package suggests the UK is continuing to move beyond headline names and into the channels used to route money, technology and services through third countries. (gov.uk)
The call also sits inside a much larger sanctions programme. The UK government’s Ukraine support factsheet says Britain has sanctioned over 3,200 individuals, entities and ships under the Russia regime, and had specified 595 vessels as of February 2026. The same factsheet and recent FCDO announcements show a steady cadence of additions this year, with nearly 300 targets announced on 24 February, 35 more on 5 May, 85 on 11 May and the 18-name finance package on 26 May. (gov.uk)
The diplomatic context hardened further on the same day. In a separate statement published on 3 June, the Foreign Office said it had summoned the Russian Ambassador after continued strikes on Ukraine and after Russia’s violation of NATO airspace the previous week, when a drone hit a residential building in Romania. Read alongside that statement, the Starmer-Zelenskyy call amounts to a coordinated British message: solidarity with Ukraine, support for talks aligned with Kyiv, and continued use of sanctions and diplomatic pressure against Moscow. (gov.uk)