British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made it clear he is prepared to send troops to Ukraine to help enforce a cease-fire, U.K. Defense Minister John Healy said.
“The prime minister has always made it clear that he is ready to send troops to Ukraine to strengthen the ceasefire,” Healy said.
France and the United Kingdom are expected to provide the bulk of the proposed military contingent, though the plan still requires support from the United States.
Healy also said a 50,000-strong force would be established to protect Europe, with London and Paris set to expand military cooperation. He added that the Franco-British summit taking place Thursday would also address deterrence tools available to both countries amid what he called “extreme threats” in Europe.
Possible Foreign Troop Deployment to Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in February that Ukraine would need 100,000 peacekeepers to maintain peace and stability, and that military planners had developed a map identifying where foreign troops could be deployed across the country.
That same month, Prime Minister Starmer said he was “ready and willing” to send British troops to Ukraine to help enforce a future peace agreement.
According to The Guardian, the U.K. and France are considering deploying up to 30,000 European troops to Ukraine, focusing primarily on air and naval defense.
In late March, the Associated Press reported that European officials were discussing several options for deploying peacekeepers, including stationing a significant number of troops in central Ukraine along Dnipro — far from the front lines.
On March 27, a “coalition of the willing” summit was held in Paris, during which officials discussed the possibility of deploying a “guarantee force” on Ukrainian territory.