Top military chiefs from more than 20 countries met in London as the Prime Minister tries to firm up a coalition of nations that could help enforce any future peace deal, ITV News Correspondent John Ray reports
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Vladimir Putin will face “severe consequences” for breaking a ceasefire, saying he is “certain” the Russian leader would violate any peace deal with Ukraine if it is not defended.
Starmer made the remarks on Thursday at Northwood military headquarters in London, where he met defence officials from 31 allied nations to discuss plans for enforcing any peace deal amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
He said military planning for the so-called “coalition of the willing” included providing Ukraine with support by air, sea, and land if a deal was reached.
But Starmer ruled out redeploying UK troops from countries such as Estonia to commit to Kyiv, he said: “There’s no pulling back from our commitments to other countries.
“The mood in the room – because this came up in the private briefing I had – was that this actually will help reinforce what we’re doing in Nato in other countries, so they see it as an opportunity, rather than a question of moving troops around.”
Speaking after arriving at the meeting, the Prime Minister said: “Last weekend and two weekends before that, we had groupings of international political leaders coming together to provide the political alignment and the collective agreement that we need to work together to ensure that any deal that is put in place is defended.
“What’s happening here is turning that political intention into reality, the concept into plans.”
He went on: “It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
“We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.”
He added: “The point of the security arrangements is to make it clear to Russia there will be severe consequences if they are to breach any deal.
“That’s why we need a forward-leaning European element, which is what I’ve been working on intensely – obviously with the French – that bring these allied countries together, and beyond.”
President Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Wednesday for the first time since their public row in the Oval Office.
During the call, Trump suggested Ukraine should consider giving the US ownership of their power plants to ensure long-term security.
Trump told Zelenskyy: “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure,” according to White House officials.
However, Zelenskyy said the conversation focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – which is the largest of its kind in Europe and has been under Russian control since early in the war. He said Trump posed the idea of “an understanding” in which “the United States can recover” the plant.
Trump and Putin had agreed on an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday, but Zelenskyy said the vow was “very much at odds with reality” following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.
Watch Starmer visiting the nuclear submarine in footage released by Downing Street:
Earlier this week Starmer visited a submarine crew on HMS Vanguard returning home from nuclear deterrent patrol. The visit made him the first prime minister to join a so-called “day zero” since 2013.
Elsewhere on Thursday, the Prime Minister is also due to visit Barrow-in-Furness after hailing the town as a “blueprint” for how increasing defence spending can boost prosperity.
He will lay the keel of the first of the Dreadnought class of submarines, a fleet of four vessels that will make up the next generation of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Addressing a press conference in Downing Street on Saturday, the PM did not elaborate on which nations had made concrete commitments to a peacekeeping force, but said that what action they could take would be a subject of discussion in the meeting.
“There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide,” he said.
Downing Street has said there are more than 30 countries expected to contribute to the “coalition of the willing” force.
In February, the Prime Minister announced the government will increase defence spending to 2.5% of the UK’s economic output by 2027, something which ministers think will help drive economic growth and create jobs across the UK.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
