British Prime Minister ready to send troops into Ukraine

According to the Telegraph (UK), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that he is "ready and willing" to send British troops to Ukraine to enforce any peace agreement.

In an exclusive article for the Telegraph, Prime Minister Starmer said he would not take the decision to consider sending British troops “into harm” lightly. It was the first time he had explicitly said he was considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine, and he made the announcement ahead of a meeting with European leaders in Paris on 17 February.

The emergency meeting on Ukraine was called at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, after it emerged that European leaders had not been invited to the first peace talks on Ukraine between the US and Russia, and senior members of President Donald Trump's administration had signaled that US security assistance to Europe would be cut.

Prime Minister Starmer’s decision will put pressure on allies, especially Germany, to publicly back the idea of ​​a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Prime Minister Starmer also suggested that Britain could play a “unique role” as a bridge between Europe and the US in the Ukraine peace process.

According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, high-level delegations from the US and Russia are expected to meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18. The US delegation is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Walz, and US President's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Ukraine was not invited to the negotiating table and Prime Minister Starmer warned that Kiev should not be excluded from the talks, likening it to the US decision to exclude the Afghan government from talks on a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Starmer said: “The UK is ready to take a leading role in accelerating the security of Ukraine. This includes further support for the Ukrainian military – to which the UK has committed £3bn a year, at least until 2030. But it also means being ready and willing to contribute to the security of Ukraine by putting British troops in action if necessary. I don’t say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting our military personnel at risk.

“But any role in helping to secure Ukraine helps to secure our continent and the security of this country. The end of this war, when it comes, cannot be just a temporary pause before Russia strikes again,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.