UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer 'ready' to put troops on the ground in Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday he'd be willing to send British troops to Ukraine if Moscow agreed to a deal which included the presence of European peacekeepers.
This marks the first time the UK leader has openly stated he would be willing to send the British army to Ukraine and comes just before an emergency meeting of European leaders in Paris.
A source close to the meeting has revealed that Starmer will be in attendance, according to Euronews.
In an opinion piece for the Daily Telegraph, Starmer conceded that deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine would put them at risk of harm, but the crisis was an "existential" issue for Europe and a "once in a lifetime" moment.
He also stated that the UK is willing to take the lead in Ukraine's defence and security, including committing £3 billion (€3.6 billion) each year until 2030.
He's spoken out after a hectic week of speeches from top officials in the new Trump administration, in which they suggested the US would dial back its military commitments in Europe and push for peace talks in Ukraine without the involvement of European leaders.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy on Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said on Saturday that it was unlikely Europe would get a spot at the negotiating table in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
However, he did say that a "European alliance" would be "absolutely crucial" to ensuring Ukrainian sovereignty.
Last week, Trump and US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth both suggested they weren't too fussed about the return of Russian-occupied areas to Kyiv or Ukraine's long-held goal of joining NATO, both key points in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposed peace deal.
Representatives from the US government and their Russian counterparts are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia this week for discussions. This follows a phone call between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that turned around a three-year US-led push to keep the Russian leader isolated.
Their remarks have left European leaders trying to figure out how the continent can get involved in a peace process.
The idea of sending European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement isn't a new one. It was first put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in early 2024 that he wouldn't rule out deploying French troops to Ukraine.
Since then, the plan has steadily gained momentum, although there's not much information available about what such a force would look like or who would be involved.
The size, composition and role of a potential European peacekeeping force would also be determined by the type of peace agreement reached, the extent of the frontline, and the number of Ukrainian and Russian forces on either side.
In his opinion piece, Starmer echoed calls by US and EU officials over the weekend that European countries must "boost defence spending" and take on a "bigger role" in the NATO military alliance.
By early 2024, eight of the 30 European countries in NATO haven't yet reached the goal of setting aside 2% of their gross domestic product for defence spending.
The UK currently spends roughly 2.3% of its GDP on defence and has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of the economy – although the new Labour government, led by Starmer, hasn't specified when this will occur.
Activating a clause in the bloc's budget rules that allows for increased defence spending.
The measure would enable several EU member countries to increase their defence spending without being restricted by the strict limits on budget deficits.
Starmer will be joined in Paris on Monday by leaders from Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, along with von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
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