Britain could send Typhoon fighter jets to police Ukrainian skies as part of a peace deal with Russia, it has been revealed.
Sir Keir Starmer is prepared to send UK troops to the war-torn country as part of efforts to enforce a possible ceasefire.
The Prime Minister put forward the plans ahead of yesterday’s talks between the US and Russia, held in Saudia Arabia, over potentially ending the three-year conflict.
Following the meeting, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the prospect of international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine as ‘completely unacceptable’.
But some have dismissed this as Moscow‘s opening negotiating position at the beginning of peace talks.
According to The Times, UK ministers have discussed ways of providing security guarantees without the need for large numbers of troops on the ground.
A senior Government source told the newspaper there could be an ‘air policing’ mission, along with air defence systems to protect jets over Ukrainian skies.
It comes amid concerns that European nations alone would be unable to provide enough troops to patrol Ukraine’s 700-mile border with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed 110,000 foreign troops might be needed to secure peace.
Britain could send Typhoon fighter jets to police Ukrainian skies as part of a peace deal with Russia, it has been revealed
Sir Keir Starmer is prepared to send UK troops to the war-torn country as part of efforts to enforce a possible ceasefire
Ukrainian troops are pictured firing towards Russian positions near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region
A British-led air policing mission could be modelled on NATO missions already taking place over the Baltics, with fighter jets potentially based in Poland.
Sir Keir and other senior ministers are adamant that a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia must come with a US ‘backstop’.
Defence Secretary John Healey said yesterday that it was ‘only the US who can provide the deterrence’ to Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘that will prevent him attacking again’.
Mr Healey also dodged on how many troops Britain was willing to commit to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
One of his predecessors as defence secretary, former Tory MP Sir Ben Wallace, today hit out at ‘fake news’ being spouted by the White House over Ukraine.
In a forthright attack on US President Donald Trump’s administration, Sir Ben accused Mr Trump of parroting ‘Kremlin talking points’.
‘I think what President Trump is learning is that if you have no skin in the game you don’t get to decide the fate of Ukraine,’ he posted on social media.
‘I am sure they all enjoyed their 4 hour talks… but they probably shouldn’t have wasted their time.’
Defence Secretary John Healey said yesterday that it was ‘only the US who can provide the deterrence’ to Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) ‘that will prevent him attacking again’
It came after Mr Trump made an unfounded allegation that Ukraine began the conflict when asked about Kyiv feeling betrayed by being shut out of talks between the US and Russia.
The US President said: ‘I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat, well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily.’
Mr Trump added: ‘You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.’
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: ‘As the PM said after Monday’s Paris summit, we are still at the early stages of the process.
‘But Britain will take a leading role in supporting a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty and will deter Putin from further aggression in the future.’
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