Media: UK not ready to send its troops to line of contact in Ukraine
Tony Radakin, Chief of the UK Defence Staff, will tell his American counterparts that the UK is ready to send troops to defend Ukraine’s airspace and waters, but not to the line of contact with Russia.
As reported by The Guardian, Radakin will attend a meeting at the Pentagon on Wednesday 20 August intended to finalise what 30 different countries are prepared to commit to Ukraine’s national security.
Radakin is expected to confirm that the UK will send troops to support logistics and training, while avoiding deployment near Russian territory. Earlier plans to station up to 30,000 personnel to guard Ukrainian facilities have been scaled back following resistance from some European nations.
"Wednesday is a really important moment. Nothing happens in Washington without the president giving the green light, so Trump giving his support to security guarantees on Monday kickstarted a lot of activity," one UK official said.
Another said that Radakin will reiterate the promises made last week by Defence Secretary John Healey, who stated that London is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine "to secure the safe skies, safe seas and to build the strength of the Ukrainian forces".
Ministers consider this to be logistical and training support, rather than sending battalions that could end up on the front line and take part in combat.
Meetings on Wednesday are seen in Europe as an essential step towards a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, will be possible only if the US is willing to provide security guarantees.
The scheduled sessions at the Pentagon on Wednesday are being closely watched for any signs that the US is ready to make commitments. On Tuesday 19 August, Trump insisted that they will not involve US troops on the ground, telling Fox News:
"You have my assurance [on that], and I’m president," he added.
The UK plans to leverage the meetings to outline to the Trump administration what it can contribute to Ukraine’s security should a peace deal be signed. Officials say that British troops could be deployed to help with logistics in defending Ukraine’s airspace and ports, but not in situations that could lead to combat with Russia.
Some experts say that European leaders do not expect Putin to agree even to such a limited deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine, and that European leaders are floating the idea of isolating the Russian leader.
British officials insist this is not the case, and that the UK and its partners are engaged in serious preparations to send troops to Ukraine if required.
"You don’t get 30 chiefs of staff coming to the Pentagon if they are not serious about this," one of them said.
Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stressed that only reliable security guarantees for Ukraine will deter Russia from a potential future attack.
At a meeting on Tuesday 19 August, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing – military allies supporting Ukraine – agreed to hold talks with the US soon on reliable security guarantees for Ukraine.