Ukraine-Russia 1,000 days: Leeds MP warns Donald Trump that 'no other country has the authority to negotiate away' Ukraine

Alex Sobel, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, said: “The UK stands steadfastly with Ukraine and its people and will do so until the last Russian troop leaves the territory of Ukraine.”

On the 1,000 day anniversary, the APPG released a joint statement saying: “This war is not only for Ukrainian land but also for the protection of democratic values, freedom, and international law.”

In one of Labour’s starkest warnings to the President-elect yet, Mr Sobel said: “No other country has the authority to negotiate away the territory of Ukraine.”

The Leeds Central and Headingley MP added: “This statement demonstrates renewed support from Parliamentarians in the UK given the evolving international situation.”

The Russian invasion has been the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, with Ukrainian officials recently revealing almost 600 children have been killed since 24 February 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelensky was handed a boost over the weekend as outgoing President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia.

This decision could pave the way for the UK to follow suit with the Storm Shadow long-range missiles, however Downing Street refused to comment on “operational discussions”.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “In recent days we’ve seen [Vladimir] Putin reach new depths of depravity, systematically attacking energy infrastructure, depriving families from warmth and light, and killing civilians through drone and missile attacks in what is an ongoing illegal war.”

The UK will “double down” to ensure Ukraine is “provided with the support that it needs for as long as it needs”.

“So, our support in Ukraine is ironclad and will continue on that basis,” she added. 

“But as to the specifics of the support that we provide … we won’t get into speculation or a commentary on operational discussions.

“It also remains the case that no war was ever won with one single piece of kit.”

The Yorkshire Post understands that the UK government would not publicly announce approval of Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, so there is the possibility that Sir Keir Starmer has already granted permission.

No 10 suggested that publicly announcing a change in the UK’s position “would only serve to benefit Putin during an ongoing illegal war”.

Mr Zelensky has been lobbying western allies for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing that he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.

Mr Zelensky said “long-range capabilities” are a key part of his “victory plan”.

But Moscow said the move would change the nature of western involvement in the conflict.

According to Russia’s Tass news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then of course this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.”

Sir Keir told reporters travelling to the G20 summit in Brazil yesterday that support for Ukraine was “top” of his agenda at the gathering of world leaders.

Mr Biden will be at the summit, while Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The change in the final months of the Biden administration comes as Kyiv and western allies brace for a possible change of US stance under Mr Trump, who has said he could end the war “in a day”.

His eldest son Donald Trump Jr accused President Biden of trying to “WWIII”, having previously said that Mr Zelensky is “weeks away” from losing his “allowance”.