Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “ready and willing” to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the UK prime minister said securing a lasting peace in Ukraine was “essential if we are to deter Putin from further aggression in the future”.
Before attending an emergency summit with European leaders in Paris on Monday, Sir Keir said the UK was prepared to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by “putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.
“I do not say that lightly,” he wrote. “I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way.”
The prime minister added: “But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country.”
The end of Russia’s war with Ukraine “when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again”, Sir Keir said.
UK troops could be deployed alongside soldiers from other European nations alongside the border between Ukrainian-held and Russian-held territory.
Sir Keir’s announcement comes after the former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, told the BBC the UK military was “so run down” it could not lead any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
The PM has previously only hinted that British troops could be involved in safeguarding Ukraine after a ceasefire.
He is due to visit President Donald Trump in Washington later this month and said a “US security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again”.
Sir Keir is meeting with other European leaders in response to concerns the US is moving forward with Russia on peace talks that will lock out the continent.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, US officials say.
On Saturday the US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said European leaders would be consulted only and not take part in any talks between the US and Russia.
A senior Ukrainian government source told the BBC on Sunday that Kyiv has not been invited to talks between the US and Russia.
Trump earlier this week announced he had had a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that negotiations to stop the “ridiculous war” in Ukraine would begin “immediately”.
Trump then “informed” Zelensky of his plan.
On Sunday, Trump said that he expected Zelensky to be involved in the talks. He also said he would allow European nations to buy US weapons for Ukraine.
Asked by the BBC about his timetable for an end to fighting, Trump said only that “we’re working to get it done” and laid the blame for the war on the previous administration’s Ukraine policies.
Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Keir said “peace cannot come at any cost” and “Ukraine must be at the table in these negotiations, because anything less would accept Putin’s position that Ukraine is not a real nation”.
He added: “We cannot have another situation like Afghanistan, where the US negotiated directly with the Taliban and cut out the Afghan government – in reference to a deal negotiated by Trump’s first administration, which was later enacted by the Biden administration.
“I feel sure that President Trump will want to avoid this too,” said Sir Keir
Sir Keir said Ukraine’s path to Nato membership was “irreversible” and European nations “must increase our defence spending and take on a greater role” in the alliance.
The UK currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence and has committed to increase defence spending to a 2.5% share of the economy, without giving a timeframe for this.
Trump has called for Nato members to spend 5% of GDP on defence, while Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has suggested allies should spend more than 3%.
Lord Dannatt – who was head of the Army from 2006 to 2009 – told the BBC up to 40,000 UK troops would be needed for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine and “we just haven’t got that number available”.
He said, in total, a force to keep the peace would require about 100,000 troops and the UK would have to supply “quite a proportion of that and we really couldn’t do it”.
The meeting in Paris called by French President Emmanuel Macron will see Sir Keir joined by leaders from Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark along with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, and Rutte.
