With Russia at war with Ukraine and with its troops reportedly closing in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, many observers are worried that a wider conflict could ensue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused its Western allies - among them the United States, UK and European Union - of leaving his country to “fight alone”, after a number of its cities came under attack.
The UK government has offered its support to Ukraine and announced a new package of sanctions - but what is the likelihood of British troops being sent to fight there?
Could British troops be sent to fight in Ukraine?
British troops will not be deployed to fight “directly” against Russian military forces, according to UK defence secretary Ben Wallace.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast earlier today (February 25th), Wallace repeated his earlier assertions that there would not be British boots on the ground in Ukraine.
“I said very clearly about a month ago that we are not going to be sending British troops to fight directly with Russian troops,” he explained.
“I'm not putting British troops directly to fight Russian troops. That would trigger a European war, because we are a Nato country, and Russia would therefore be attacking Nato.”
However, Wallace did say that Britain supported Ukraine’s aspirations to join Nato, the US-led military alliance, adding that “not every country has wanted them to join”.
Wallace also stated that the UK had done “the next best thing” to deploying troops, by training more than 20,000 Ukrainians and supplying them with “lethal capabilities”.
His remarks were echoed by his colleague, armed forces minister James Heappey, who told the House of Commons today that UK and Nato soldiers “should not, must not, play an active role in Ukraine” due to the “risks of miscalculation” involved.
Heappey also rejected the idea of implementing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, as this too would risk bringing Russian and Nato fighter jets into contact with one another.
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