Two former U.K. defense ministers have said British troops should be sent to Ukraine as part of a post-war peacekeeping force.
Grant Shapps and Sir Gavin Williamson made the call in the British newspaper The Telegraph as Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, prepares to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, in the coming weeks.
It will be the first meeting between Starmer and Zelenskyy and will come at a time of heightened speculation fueled by the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House later this month.
Trump has claimed he can strike a quick deal to end the war even before he assumes the presidency. But while the details of any plan remain undefined, there has been talk that a land-for-peace arrangement could require the deployment of a peacekeeping force to patrol the demarcation line between the two warring sides.
Zelenskyy told journalists that he and Starmer will discuss the prospect of the British Armed Forces participating in a peacekeeping mission after the war.
Shapps and Williamson told The Telegraph that they have pushed the current defense minister, John Healey and Starmer to commit to a post-war peacekeeping process.
Shapps, Healey’s predecessor, told The Telegraph: “British troops contributing to a post-war peacekeeping force would undoubtedly be a welcome move, but it barely scratches the surface of what Ukraine truly needs.
“This is a nation fighting not just for its survival but for the values of freedom and sovereignty that underpin global security.
“The U.K. has been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine against Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion, and we must now lead in offering a bold and unwavering path to NATO membership."
He added it was “astonishing that it’s taken Starmer over six months to visit Ukraine, particularly when he’s found time to travel the globe many times over.”
Williamson, who served as defense minister from 2017 to 2019, mentioned the Minsk II agreement, signed in 2015 by Russia, Ukraine and representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which aimed to end the war in eastern Ukraine.
He told the paper: “Previously, there had been a treaty commitment, but what we saw is that it ended up being worth not a great deal when it came to a hot conflict and it’s going to be absolutely vital for the future that Ukraine security is underpinned by others, whether that is via NATO or whether that is by countries such as the United Kingdom that can be seen as reliable partners.”
A U.K. government spokesman told The Telegraph: “The U.K. is taking a leading role in supporting Ukraine, which is why the prime minister committed £3 billion a year of military support for Ukraine for as long as it takes, and this year, the U.K. will spend more than it ever has on military funding for Ukraine."
He added: “The prime minister has also made a clear commitment to speak regularly with President Zelenskyy, and has met in person six times, including hosting him at No. 10 twice.”
