Britain will deploy troops in Ukraine as part of a proposed ceasefire deal backed for the first time by the United States. Sir Keir Starmer signed a joint declaration for the “multinational force” with France and Ukraine on Tuesday, which aims to help uphold any peace agreement and prevent another invasion by Russia, reports the Telegraph.
The deal includes Britain and France setting up “military hubs” in Ukraine to facilitate troop deployments if needed, and to also help with reconstruction efforts. The US has now offered a “backstop” to support the European troops in the event of a future war with Russia, a move described as game-changing by European leaders shortly before the deal was announced.
The agreement comes amid mounting tension between Europe and the US over Donald Trump‘s threats to annex Greenland, a territory of Nato-member Denmark, and questions over the legality of his operation to arrest Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan dictator.
On Tuesday, European leaders and Mr Trump’s lead negotiators – Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner – held a rare joint press conference in Paris to announce details of the new commitments. However, an end to the war still depends on Moscow agreeing to a wider ceasefire plan that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has so far refused to sign up to.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, warned a ceasefire could still be “six weeks or six months” away. The “declaration of intent” signed in Paris paves a legal pathway for British and French forces to operate on Ukrainian soil to help rebuild the war-torn nation’s armed forces – and police its skies and seas.
US agrees to support force in case of attack
At a meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, the US agreed for the first time to “to support the force in case of attack”, according to a statement signed by around 40 leaders of European governments and Canada. Washington has also promised to lead a high-tech operation to monitor any ceasefire line, agreed between Ukraine and Russia, to attribute blame for any violations.
Sir Keir said: “In today’s discussions, we have … gone into greater detail about the mechanics of the deployment of the force on the ground. Alongside our plans for a co-ordination cell, post-ceasefire, the UK and France will also establish ‘military hubs’ across Ukraine to enable the deployment and build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine’s defensive needs.”
Mr Merz said any ceasefire agreement could take months, and also warned that an “ideal, perfect” peace was unlikely, hinting at the need for Kyiv to offer further compromises on a wider peace deal.
Kushner calls deal a ‘very, very big milestone’ but warns peace not guaranteed
Mr Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law, called the deal over security guarantees a “very, very big milestone”. But he warned: “This does not mean that we will make peace, but peace would not be possible without the progress that was made here today.”
Mr Witkoff told reporters that the US, Europe and Ukraine were closing in on a deal on future security guarantees “which are important, so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever”.
The plan states that Britain and France would lead a force aimed at deterring any future Russian invasion if the US-led peace talks ended in a ceasefire. The agreement also calls for European fighter jets and surveillance aircraft to be used to police the skies above Ukraine to enable the resumption of international air travel.
800,000-strong Ukrainian military to serve as main deterrence
A planned 800,000-strong Ukrainian military will serve as the main deterrence to any future Russian invasion. As well as promising to help rebuild its battle-stricken forces, Sir Keir said European allies promised “legally-binding commitments to support Ukraine in the case of a future armed attack.”
The proposals, nor a 20-point peace plan, have yet to be agreed to by Putin. The latest draft agreement contains a number of concessions and post-war benefits for Russia, as well as the security guarantees for Ukraine.