Keir Starmer’s coalition of the willing to gather in Paris in a bid to build an army for Ukraine as Russia labels Britain the world’s biggest ‘warmonger’_Nhy
Military officials from more than 30 nations will meet in Paris today in a bid to agree the make-up of an international security force for Ukraine.
Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff will co-chair the meeting of defence chiefs with his French counterpart.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and Thierry Burkhard will be hoping to convince more countries to commit to sending ground forces to Ukraine following a ceasefire.
The UK and France had been the only countries to have made such a commitment, but yesterday they were joined by Spain – which already has 3,000 troops in Eastern Europe.
Tomorrow, the UK Defence Secretary John Healey will hold talks with the defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Poland in the French capital.
The push to secure the framework of a workable military force came as Russia labelled Britain the world’s biggest ‘warmonger’.
The remarks by an official from Russia’s foreign intelligence service were set in the context of accusing the UK of seeking to sabotage US efforts to secure peace in Ukraine.
The UK and France are the only countries committed to sending ground forces to Ukraine following a ceasefire (pictured: Keir Starmer with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in London this month)
Russia is opposed to British troops leading any post-ceasefire stabilisation force in Ukraine (pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin)
If a peacekeeping plan is agreed among European allies, Sir Keir could take it to the White House along with French president Emmanuel Macron and Mr Zelensky to present a united front to Donald Trump (pictured)
Defence Secretary John Healey (pictured) will join his counterparts in Paris on Wednesday
While the United Sates has turned against Ukraine, cutting off military aid and intelligence in a bid to force the country to defend itself, the UK has continued to fight Ukraine’s corner.
While European security partners will be attending the conference in person, Asian and Oceanic nations are expected to join the talks remotely.
Their presence, albeit via video link, has been seen as a tacit acknowledgement by the UK and France that a stabilisation force requires more personnel than European nations alone can provide.
In apparent attempt to exploit any tensions between the UK and the US over support for Ukraine, Russian officials strongly criticised Britain yesterday.
A source from the SVR intelligence agency said: ‘It is time to expose them and send a clear signal to the treacherous Albion and its elites; you will not succeed.’
The source also suggested Britain was to blame for starting the Second World War and said today this country was acting to ‘undermine US President Donald Trump’s peacekeeping efforts’.
Russia is also opposed to British troops leading any post-ceasefire stabilisation force in Ukraine, though this might be one concession the Kremlin is forced to make as part of a settlement to the three-year conflict.
