The Daily Star decries remarks by US Vice-President JD Vance about a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The US politician said a stake in Ukraine’s economy was a “better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. Both the UK and France have said they would be willing to put troops on the ground. The paper calls Vance’s remarks a “vile slur on Brit heroes”, but he has insisted he did not “even mention the UK or France”.
The fallout from Vance’s remarks is also seized upon by the Daily Express, which says veterans have branded the vice-president a “clown”. It says they have accused Vance of “dishonouring the 636 British heroes who lost their lives fighting alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
The Daily Mirror headline says Vance “pours scorn on the heroes of our armed forces”, noting the remarks came as plans for Britain’s VE Day celebrations were unveiled. “Disgrace,” it pronounces.
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have sparked fears of “serious damage to the global economy”, the Financial Times reports. It says markets fell sharply after the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico came into effect, with the US also imposing an extra 10% levy on goods from China.
The Daily Telegraph says Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an 11th-hour attempt to “make things right” with Trump after their Oval Office row on Friday. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer helped the Ukrainian president “swallow his pride”, it says. Elsewhere on its front, King Charles III is pictured perched on a seat on a Royal Navy warship – becoming the first monarch to visit such a vessel at sea in almost 40 years.
The UK is “scrambling” to save a Ukraine peace deal as “Zelensky grovels to Trump”, the I paper writes. It says Ukraine’s president has offered an olive branch to Trump, insisting he wants a rapid truce. It also includes a segment on the creation of a woolly mouse, which it calls the “first step to genetically engineering mammoth-like elephants”.
Zelensky’s proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine leads the Guardian. It quotes him as saying he is “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible” and work under Trump’s “strong leadership”. The paper also carries a report which found 9% of women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were killed by their sons.
The Daily Mail also picks up on Zelensky’s “olive branch”. It says he described the White House clash with Trump as “regrettable” and said he “really valued” the US’s support. The paper, along with several others, runs a photograph of the Duchess of Sussex. Her TV rebrand is critiqued as “Entry level hosting for people who need a recipe for ice cubes”.
Britain is “pressing” Trump to reverse his decision to suspend arms shipments to Ukraine, the Times reports. It says Zelensky has expressed his gratitude to the US in a “carefully worded statement” and indicated he was ready to sign a mineral rights deal with the country.
Football pundit Jermaine Jenas and his wife Ellie Penfold have split up after a 16-year relationship, the Sun reports. She said on Instagram the couple had decided to “part ways”. It comes months after Jenas, who presented The One Show and appeared on Match of the Day for the BBC, was sacked by the corporation following complaints about workplace conduct.
Time for a look at the papers.
Many lead on Volodymyr Zelensky’s message on social media yesterday, aiming to salvage his relationship with Donald Trump. The Daily Mail says the Ukrainian leader has offered an “olive branch” to the US president. “Zelensky bows to Trump pressure” is the Daily Telegraph’s take. The Financial Times says Kyiv has shown “contrition”, and is ready to sign a minerals deal with Washington. The Times says Sir Keir Starmer advised Zelensky to do everything he could to rebuild relations. The I paper leads on the the Defence Secretary, John Healey, flying to Washington to meet his US counterpart on Thursday, to attempt to rescue ceasefire plans.
The Daily Express says British military veterans have called the US Vice-President, JD Vance, a “clown” for his comments about a potential European peacekeeping force for Ukraine, made up of what he called “random countries” that had not fought a war in 30 or 40 years. “How dare you” says the Daily Mirror. The Daily Star calls him “JD Dunce”, and points out that “636” British soldiers died in Afghanistan and Iraq while fighting alongside the US. Writing in The Sun, the author and former SAS soldier, Andy McNab, says the vice-president’s comments are an “insult” to those “killed on active duty”. Vance says he did not mention the UK in his remarks.
Reuters
The Guardian highlights a report that suggests almost one in 10 women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were killed by their sons. The study examined 2,000 legally completed cases and gathered data from freedom of information requests to police – as well as media reports. The minister for violence against women and girls, Jess Phillips, tells the paper that the report highlights “the appalling scale of femicide”.
According to the Times, experts from University College London say that replacing “five-yearly health checks” for over 50s with a daily pill could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Their editorial, published in the British Medical Journal, argues that offering a “polypill” – which combines a statin and three blood pressure drugs – could work better as a preventative strategy. The authors highlight previous research estimating that such a tablet could prevent about 80% of heart attacks and strokes in people aged over 55. The British Heart Foundation tells the Times it’s “too early to call for polypills to replace the NHS health check”.
Many of the papers carry pictures of the King aboard a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. The Daily Telegraph says it’s the first time in almost 40 years that a monarch has visited a British warship at sea. The Sun says King Charles III told personnel gathered in the hangar of HMS Prince of Wales that their deployment came “amidst new challenges in an everchanging and more unpredictable world”. The I says the King was “jovial” and wore “military uniform” to inspect sailors, and that he watched a fighter jet land on the deck. Buckingham Palace said the visit was not linked to the geopolitical situation, and that the monarch’s diary was planned months in advance.
Reuters
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