{UAH} IS UK NOW NOT STANDING UP TO BE COUNTED?

Risks Are ‘Too High’: UK Likely to Scrap Plan for Protection Force to Ukraine

The original proposal involved deploying troops to protect key Ukrainian cities, ports, and nuclear power facilities. A reduced presence is now deemed more realistic.

by Kyiv Post | April 25, 2025, 9:10 am

Britain is expected to drop plans to send thousands of ground troops to Ukraine as protection force over fears it could trigger a wider conflict if a hypothetical ceasefire with Russia – which has yet to be reached due to Moscow’s unwillingness – breaks down, The Times reported, citing government sources.

British officials reportedly believe the risks are “too high” and the available forces insufficient for such a mission. The original proposal involved deploying troops to protect key Ukrainian cities, ports, and nuclear power facilities in the event that a peace deal takes hold.

In a shift from earlier plans, the United Kingdom and European allies are now focusing on strengthening Ukraine’s military rather than deploying large ground forces. The new approach includes rebuilding and rearming Kyiv’s forces, with security support from air and sea.

British and French military trainers are expected to be sent to western Ukraine. This would fulfill a commitment to place forces inside the country, but they would remain far from the front lines and not be responsible for guarding key infrastructure or protecting troops in combat zones.

Under the revised plan, aircraft would help protect Ukrainian airspace and provide cover for western personnel.

Turkey is expected to play a key role in maritime security. Meanwhile, weapons and equipment from the UK and Europe would continue to support Ukraine in case of renewed fighting.

Moscow’s latest ceasefire “terms” for Ukraine are not a path to peace, but a poisoned chalice, designed to exploit Kyiv’s resilience and freeze the conflict on Russia’s terms.

A source involved in the discussions about a potential “coalition of the willing” said the idea of deploying tens of thousands of ground troops had always been considered risky.

“The risks are too high and the forces inadequate for such a task,” the source said. “This was always the UK’s thought. It was France who wanted a more muscular approach.”

While a full ground deployment appears unlikely, the British Ministry of Defence has not ruled out sending troops in some capacity.

The previously discussed plan proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined a 30-day truce in the air and at sea, along with a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. A peacekeeping force would be deployed in a second phase. Bloomberg said European nations could send up to 30,000 troops to Ukraine. 

However, senior military sources in the British military reportedly dismissed Starmer’s proposal to send a peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine as part of a “coalition of the willing,” calling the plan “political theater.”

“Starmer got ahead of himself with talk of boots on the ground before he knew what he was talking about,” one senior military source told The Telegraph at the end of March.

A small contingent of about 10,000 troops, they noted, stationed far from the front line in the west, would not be able to defend itself against 700,000 Russian troops in Ukraine.

“There are about 700,000 Russians in and around Ukraine and over a million Ukrainians under arms,” another source said.

“What is a 10,000-international force based in the west of the country, over 400 kilometers [249 miles] from the front line meant to do?”

“It cannot even protect itself. What is the mission? What is its legitimacy? No one knows,” the source added.

There is also skepticism in Kyiv and among Ukrainian allies about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept a Western-led force on Ukrainian soil since Moscow has repeatedly opposed the presence of NATO or EU peacekeepers in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the deployment of European peacekeepers “unacceptable” for Moscow, while Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that such a move could lead to a direct NATO-Russia confrontation. Zakharova has accused France and the UK of disguising military intervention as a peacekeeping operation.

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