The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that British troops being mobilised as peacekeepers in Ukraine is now moving into an “operational phase.”
On Saturday Starmer convened a virtual meeting of world leaders where they discussed the “coalition of the willing” for those who will contribute troops for a peacekeeping operation inside Ukraine.
The Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News on Sunday morning that Russian soldiers confronting British forces in Ukraine would be an “extraordinary escalation,” one that could lead to direct conflict between London and Moscow.
Streeting believes that confrontation between Russian and British troops would be enough to deter Moscow breaching any ceasefire.
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Streeting told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, “I think it would be an extraordinary escalation for Russian troops to find themselves in conflict with British troops.”
On Thursday the Prime Minister will be meeting with military leaders to discuss “robust” plans for British boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Streeting added, “What Thursday is about, where the Prime Minister and the UK are convening military leaders from across allied countries, is about having a serious plan, a serious military strategy to secure a peace.”
Russia has made demands that they do not want any NATO troops in Ukraine and have warned that this will lead to a direct conflict between Russian and Western troops.
On Sunday the French President Emmanuel Macron said it is for Kyiv to decide if they want foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine and it is not Moscow’s decision.
Macron told French media, “Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not something for Russia to accept or not.”
Lord Peter Ricketts, who is a retired senior diplomat, has warned Starmer’s plans for peacekeepers in Ukraine come with “considerable risks.”
Lord Ricketts told Sky News that Starmer has done an “excellent job” bringing Europe together, but “now you’ve got to ask the tough questions,” What will “a European force actually do in Ukraine?”
The former national security advisor told Sky New’s Trevel Phillips that the European troops in Ukraine will have to be prepared to fight the Russians, and a “cast Iron American guarantee” will most likely prevent this.
He added, “I don’t think Trump is going to give that kind of commitment, while I admire the work going into it… I think a formed fighting force is a considerable risk without an American clear guarantee.”
