Plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine are “real and substantial”, the Defence Secretary has said, at the start of a further meeting of the “coalition of the willing”.
John Healey opened the meeting of defence ministers from 30 countries, at Nato headquarters in Brussels, with a call for allies to put more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine.
He said: “We cannot jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war.
“The daily reality for millions of Ukrainians continues, drone attacks, missile strikes, brutal fighting on the front line, so we must put more pressure on President Putin to end his war and we must step up support for Ukraine both in the fight and in the push for peace.”
The meeting, co-hosted by Mr Healey and his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, is intended to continue planning for a “reassurance force” that can be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement.
It will also hear from the heads of the UK and French armed forces on the progress of planning so far.
Mr Healey said: “We advance the momentum of that planning here today, planning to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to protect its sovereignty and to deter any further Russian aggression.
“While today’s discussions will be private, our planning is real and substantial.”
He added that the coalition had “clear objectives” for Ukraine, including “safe skies”, “safe seas”, peace on land and a strengthening of Kyiv’s armed forces.
But the prospect of a ceasefire still appears distant, as Russia has effectively rejected a US-backed proposal for a 30-day pause in hostilities.
Last month, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a truce in the Black Sea, but the Kremlin has pushed for some sanctions to be lifted before it comes into effect.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues. Russia carried out airstrikes against Kyiv earlier in the week while Ukraine claims to have captured Chinese nationals fighting for the Russian army.
Mr Healey went on to say that further military support would be announced on Friday at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which he will chair alongside German defence minister Boris Pistorius.
Meetings of the defence contact group had been chaired by the US defence secretary, until Donald Trump became president in January.
Since then, in a sign of the US’s disengagement from European security, Mr Healey has taken over that duty, chairing his first such meeting in February.
