PRESS for peace talks rather than pouring in more weapons, anti-war campaigners demanded today as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited Downing Street.

Mr Zelensky’s talks with PM Sir Keir Starmer were part of a Europe-wide tour to seek greater military support for his country in its war with Russia, hawking a “victory plan” few find credible.

But Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German said: “Zelensky is back in No 10 begging for more support to going keep a horrific proxy war between nuclear states, from which there can be no winner.

“This suits Starmer well, whose only solution is to send more weaponry and allow it to be used in more circumstances.

“Instead of calling for a ceasefire and peace talks in Ukraine, Starmer is determined to keep making the case to the US to allow Ukraine to launch Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, regardless of the dangers of further escalation and the extremely high human and financial cost.

“With British military aid to Ukraine standing at £7.8 billion and the government committed to an additional £600 million, it’s clear that there’s a very different attitude to money for war than there is for relieving poverty.”

The Downing Street talks were joined by new Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.

The Ukrainian president is above all lobbying to be able to use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets deep within Russia.

But permission to do so rests with the US, which controls all strategic decision-making in the conflict, and it has so far declined to give the green light for fear of uncontrolled escalation.

After the talks, Downing Street insisted that the Storm Shadow issue was not decisive. 

A spokesman said: “No war has ever been won by a single weapon.

“The discussions that Britain, Ukraine and international partners are having are about the range of support that we can provide Ukraine heading into the crucial winter months.”

Mr Rutte was singing from the same hymn sheet, telling reporters: “It will not be one weapon system which will make the change.

“So I understand what Zelensky is asking, but at the same time there is a broader issue to be debated to make sure that they prevail.”

For his part, Mr Zelensky claimed that his “victory plan aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war,” amid fears in Nato capitals that Ukraine could be defeated over the course of the winter.