UK peacekeeping troops in Ukraine 'risky', PM warned

The UK sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine is highly risky”, a former security adviser to Gordon Brown has warned, arguing the grotesquely underfunded” armed forces do not have the resources to take on the role.

- MILLIE COOKE

The prime minister confirmed the UK will discuss such a move with its allies on a visit to Kyiv this week, vowing Britain will “play our part” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security following any ceasefire with Russia.

But a number of senior military figures have expressed concerns about the plan. Among them is Lord West of Spithead, the retired admiral of the Royal Navy, and Mr Brown’s former adviser, who warned that maintaining troops in Ukraine is currently “beyond us” as a result of how “grotesquely underfunded and hollowed out” the armed forces are.

“There is a lot of scope for getting very enmeshed in action that you don’t want to get enmeshed in,” Lord West told The Independent. “And you can suddenly find yourself almost in a situation of saying, ‘Yes, we’ll have to send in more troops’.

“Once you’re there on the ground, it’s almost as if you’re looking after another member of Nato. What we need to do is make sure that war doesn’t restart again with Putin trying to take over Ukraine. So within the package of how that’s done, I’m sure there are other ways of ensuring that, other than us just having troops there.”