KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) – The UK will play its “full part” in peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby during a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday, Sir Keir emphasized that the conflict with Russia extends beyond “sovereignty in Ukraine” and impacts the UK, including the cost of living crisis.
This visit marks Sir Keir’s first trip to Ukraine since his party’s landslide election victory six months ago. The purpose of the trip was to discuss Ukraine’s next steps, especially in light of Donald Trump’s recent election victory in November. President-elect Trump, whose inauguration is on January 20, has expressed a desire to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine within 100 days.
However, some European leaders fear that pushing Kyiv into a deal could result in Ukraine ceding territory to Vladimir Putin. Sir Keir stated that the UK would play its “full part” in any peace negotiations, including the potential deployment of British troops for peacekeeping. When asked if he was prepared to commit to this, Sir Keir replied, “I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I have indicated that we will play our full part – because this isn’t just about sovereignty in Ukraine. It’s about the impact on the United Kingdom, our values, our freedom, our democracy. If Russia succeeds in this aggression, it will affect all of us for a very long time.”
Upon arriving in Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Russian drone was shot down over the presidential palace. Sir Keir remarked that the drone threat was “a reminder of what Ukraine faces every day” and attributed the war to “Russian aggression.”
During the interview, Sir Keir also addressed Ukraine’s longstanding desire to join NATO, a move strongly opposed by President Putin. At a NATO summit in Washington last summer, the alliance’s members declared that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to NATO membership. “We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements and decide its own future, free from outside interference. Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” the declaration stated.
However, President Zelenskyy has tempered his language around NATO membership, suggesting in a November interview with Sky News that a ceasefire deal could be reached if Ukrainian territory he controlled fell “under the NATO umbrella,” allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest diplomatically.
President-elect Trump has acknowledged Moscow’s opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, stating, “Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I can understand their feeling about that.”
