UK’s Starmer says he is ready to send peacekeepers, planes to secure peace in Ukraine

The United Kingdom is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers and send “planes into the air” to ensure peace, said Prime Minister Keir Starmer after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

“I am working closely with other European leaders on this, and I am clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies,” he said.

Starmer emphasized that this is the only way to achieve lasting peace, adding that peace should not “reward the aggressor.”

Eighteen countries are slated to join the peace talks and a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, according to Starmer.

He has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and more than 10 European leaders to London on March 2 to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to brief European allies on the outcome of their talks with Trump in Washington earlier this week, Bloomberg reports.

“[In the U.S.] they tried to convince him [Trump] to pledge a US military “backstop” if Moscow breached a potential peace agreement in future,” the report said.

Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Romania have also been invited to the meeting. 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Charles Michel are expected to attend.

London is ready to increase its military support for Ukraine “like never before,” Starmer said.

The UK to date has committed more than $16 billion in total support to Ukraine, including military training and armament. 

Starmer had promised to act as a “bridge” between Washington and Europe and plans to emphasize the importance of continued U.S. support to prevent any future Russian invasions of Ukraine after the war ends, according to The Telegraph.