‘Nothing off the table’ over possible troop deployment for Kyiv, No10 says
Western military planning to enforce a potential ceasefire in Ukraine is set to intensify in London next week as No10 said “nothing is off the table” over possible troop deployment for Kyiv.
No10 said “thousands” of personnel would be required to support any operation whether by “sea, on land or in the air” as allies prepare “for all eventualities” amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Officials from the so-called coalition of the willing will “accelerate the pace and scale” of work to consolidate proposals for possible troop deployment across land, air or sea to safeguard any Kyiv peace deal, a No10 spokesman said.
Sir Keir Starmer said new military sub-planning groups would continue talks during “three intensive planning days” next week, in a call with EU chiefs and non-EU countries on Friday.
It comes after Sir Keir warned Vladimir Putin would face “severe consequences” for breaching any truce as he met defence planners for the first stage of talks at the UK’s Northwood military headquarters on Thursday.
Downing Street on Friday said officials from allied countries will meet again at the same site next week to firm up a strategy to protect Kyiv as plans enter an “operational phase”.
‘Nothing off the table’ – No10
Asked whether the focus of discussions had shifted away from the prospect of ground troops for Ukraine, a No10 spokesman said: “No, nothing is off the table on any of these fronts, so I wouldn’t start ruling anything out.
“But clearly thousands of troops will be required to support any deployment, whether that is at sea, on land or in the air.”
Any deployment will require significant support and the firming up of “basic logistics of … moving people and ensuring deployment rotations, so as the Prime Minister said we need to be prepared for all eventualities,” the No10 official said.
“We’ve moved into an operational phase now and what that means is … bringing together military planners to look at the potential design of force structures, interoperability and what capability is needed to ensure a sovereign Ukraine is able to defend itself for generations to come.
“Next week, we’ll continue to accelerate the pace and scale of operational planning with further meetings at our Northwood headquarters as we look forward more closely at the details and structure of any future force.”
European and Commonwealth allies are seeking to pressure the Russian president as he resists accepting in full a US and Ukraine-backed ceasefire, as well as ensuring a peacekeeping plan is in place if an agreement is reached.
EU defence talks
Sir Keir spoke to the presidents of the European Council and European Commission as well as the leaders of Turkey, Norway and Iceland on Friday.
He updated them on the Northwood meeting with defence planners from 31 countries and said it “reinforced to him the importance of ensuring the coalition had the necessary plans in place for any eventuality”, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The Prime Minister also outlined the new military sub-planning groups, across land, sea, air, regeneration and reconstruction, which would continue discussions across three intensive planning days next week.”
He told them it was clear that President Putin is trying to “delay and add conditions to any meaningful ceasefire”.
Moscow agreed to pause attacks on Ukrainian power plants after a phone call between Putin and US president Donald Trump, but Kyiv has said civilian targets including hospitals have since been struck.
Meanwhile, delegations from Kyiv and Moscow are expected to meet separately with US officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days for further peace talks.
Trump and Zelensky
Zelensky has said he is hopeful a “lasting peace can be achieved this year” after he spoke on the phone with Trump on Tuesday, but appeared to contradict a suggestion that Washington could take ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.
The Ukrainian leader said this would only relate to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the south-east of the country and that plants “belong to the people of Ukraine”.
Speaking on Friday at a White House press briefing, Trump said he believed “we’re going to pretty soon have a full ceasefire” and “the contracts in terms of dividing up the lands et cetera, et cetera, it’s being negotiated as we speak”.
Russian drones pummelled the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, injuring three people and sparking massive fires late on Thursday, according to officials. Separately, glide bombs injured at least six people, including a child, in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight.
The strikes underline Moscow’s intention to pursue aerial attacks even after it agreed to temporarily halt attacks on energy facilities.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 214 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks, 114 of which were intercepted and another 81 jammed.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had shot down 43 Ukrainian drones, 34 of them over the Volgograd region and others over the Rostov, Kursk and Belgorod regions.
The authorities did not report any casualties or significant damage.
Press Association – Nina Lloyd and David Lynch