LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday Europe was at a crossroads in history and must do the heavy lifting to defend itself as world leaders met in London to discuss ways of working together to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles.

His call for European allies to increase their arms spending to shore up their own defenses and Ukraine’s was not a sign that he thought the United States had become an unreliable ally, he said. No two countries are closely aligned than the U.K. and the U.S., Starmer said.

“One thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe, it will wash up on our shores,” he said.

The summit comes two days after U.S. support for Ukraine appeared in greater jeopardy after President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasn’t grateful enough for U.S. support.

“Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression,” Starmer said at the outset of the meeting.

Starmer, flanked by Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, said the three of them had agreed to work on a peace plan to take to the U.S., which has discussed brokering a peace deal.

“To support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing,” he said.

The meeting had been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy by Trump.

Starmer said he’s focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump, Zelenskyy and Macron rather than “ramp up the rhetoric.”

Sunday’s summit included talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve “a coalition of the willing.”

Starmer told the BBC he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. “Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes,” he said.

Starmer said there are “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the U.S.

“If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again,” Starmer said.

The three essentials Starmer listed for a successful peace deal were: arming the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength; including a European element to guarantee security; and providing a “U.S. backstop,” to prevent Putin from breaking promises.

Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following a charm offensive last week to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe.

Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance.

Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, an exceptional attack on an ally broadcast on live television.

Starmer embraced Zelenskyy as he arrived at the meeting Sunday.

Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war.

Meetings in recent days had provided some hope — until Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House.

Visits to the Oval Office by Macron, who had declared his visit a “turning point,” and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops.

Within 12 hours of Starmer’s return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump’s assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted.

“Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europe’s agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal,” said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. “Unfortunately, Friday’s White House meeting was a major step backward.”

Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations, Ellehuus said. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some 200 billion euros ($207 billion) in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort.

Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP.

“If we don’t increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we won’t end up well,” he said.

Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending.

“We should have woken up earlier,” Macron said. “I’ve been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe.”

Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Karel Janicek in Prague and Samuel Petrequin contributed.

LONDON (AP) — A British teen pleaded guilty Monday to murdering three girls and attempting to kill 10 other people in what a prosecutor said was a “meticulously planned” stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.

The crime shocked Britain, and misinformation about the attacker sparked anti-immigrant violence across the country. The government announced it would hold an independent public inquiry into the attack, which was carried out by a U.K.-born teenager whose troubling fascination with violence saw him reported to authorities years before the crime.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, entered the surprise guilty pleas as jury selection had been expected to begin at the start of his trial in Liverpool Crown Court.

The July 29 stabbings led to a week of widespread rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland after the suspect was falsely identified as an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain by boat. He was born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Rudakubana’s conviction, but said it was “a moment of trauma for the nation.”

“There are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls,” he said. “Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.”

U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that a public inquiry would “get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change.”

She disclosed that Rudakubana had been referred to the government’s anti-extremism program, Prevent, when he was 13 and 14, and “was in contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years” — all of whom failed to spot the danger he posed.

The attack occurred on the first day of summer vacation when the little girls at the Hart Space, a sanctuary hidden behind a row of houses, were in a class to learn yoga and dance to the songs of Taylor Swift. What was supposed to be a day of joy turned to terror and heartbreak when Rudakubana, armed with a knife, intruded and began stabbing the girls and their teacher in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.

“This was an unspeakable attack — one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness,” Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle said. “A day which should have been one of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.”

Prosecutors haven’t said what they believe led Rudakubana — who was days shy of his 18th birthday — to commit the atrocities, but Doyle said that it was clear he had a “a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence.”

Rudakubana had consistently refused to speak in court and did so once again when asked to identify himself at the start of the proceedings. But he broke his silence when he was read the 16-count indictment and asked to enter pleas, replying “guilty” to each charge.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife and additional charges related to possessing the poison ricin and for having an al-Qaida manual.

Rudakubana faces life imprisonment when sentenced Thursday, Justice Julian Goose said.

Defense lawyer Stanley Reiz said that he would present information to the judge about Rudakubana’s mental health that may be relevant to his sentence.

The surviving victims and family members of those killed were absent in court, because they had expected to arrive Tuesday for opening statements.

Goose asked the prosecutor to apologize on his behalf that they weren’t present to hear Rudakubana plead guilty.

He pleaded guilty to murdering Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6.

Eight other girls, ranging in age from 7 to 13, were wounded, along with instructor Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, who worked in a business next door and intervened. Fifteen other girls, as young as 5, were at the class but uninjured.

Hayes said he still had flashbacks to the attack and was “hugely upset at the time that I wasn’t able to do more.”

“But I did what I could in the circumstances,” he told Sky News. “I’m grateful to be here, and by all accounts I’ll make a full recovery, at least physically. … I’m going to be OK and others won’t be, and that’s really where I I think the focus of attention should be.”

Police said the stabbings weren’t classified as acts of terrorism because the motive wasn’t known.

Matt Jukes, head of counterterrorism policing, said that an extensive investigation found Rudakubana had “a wide interest in conflict, violence, genocide, and terrorism,” but investigators were unable to figure out what drove him to kill.

Several months after his arrest at the scene of the crime, Rudakubana was charged with additional counts for production of a biological toxin, ricin and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism for having the manual in a document on his computer.

The day after the killings — and shortly after a peaceful vigil for the victims — a violent group attacked a mosque near the crime scene and pelted police officers with bricks and bottles and set fire to police vehicles.

Rioting then spread to dozens of other towns over the next week when groups made up mostly of men mobilized by far-right activists on social media clashed with police during violent protests and attacked hotels housing migrants.

More than 1,200 people were arrested for the disorder and hundreds have been sentenced to up to nine years in prison.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.