Sir Keir Starmer will reportedly present US president Donald Trump with a peacekeeping plan to send fewer than 30,000 European troops to Ukraine when he flies to Washington, D.C. next week.
The “reassurance force”, an Anglo-French strategy designed by British and French officials, was presented at an emergency meeting in Paris earlier this week, according to The Telegraph.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back at the leaked plan on Thursday, describing it as ‘unacceptable’ for Moscow and a concern because it would involve troops from Nato members. Earlier this week foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow sees the idea of having Nato troops in Ukraine as a “direct threat” - even if they operate under a different flag.
As the Trump administration ramped up efforts towards a ceasefire agreement by meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia - without inviting Kyiv - European leaders are scrambling to leave their mark on the peace process amid fears it may oversee Ukrainian and European interests.
Sir Keir will detail the plan to Mr Trump during his first official visit to the White House since the president’s election, the Telegraph reported, adding that he will push for US fighter jets and missiles to remain on standby in eastern Europe to deter Russian forces from breaching any agreed terms.
A Downing Street spokesperson said earlier this week that US security guarantees are “essential” because “only the United States can deter Putin from attacking again”.
Fewer than 30,000 troops will be stationed in crucial strategic sites in Ukraine, the newspaper adds. The reported number is well short of the 200,000 demanded by Mr Zelensky in Davos, with Kyiv expecting to struggle to maintain the million-strong army needed to repel another Russian invasion once the war ends.
Troops would be stationed in vital cities, ports, and nuclear power stations - but they would be nowhere near the current frontline, the outlet reported, citing Western officials briefed on the plans.
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft would be a central element of the plan, rather than sending a larger number of troops, it is claimed. The “technical monitoring” would help to provide a “complete picture of what is going on”, a Western official said.
There would be sufficient firepower to monitor and “shoot these attacks down”, allowing Ukraine’s airspace to be reopened and the resumption of commercial flights, the report says, adding that navy patrol ships would monitor Russian threats against commercial shipping routes in the Black Sea.
Sir Keir says the operation would require a “US backstop” to deter Russian attacks, the purpose of which would be to “have the confidence that whatever forces are deployed will not be challenged by Russia,” the official told the Telegraph.
A backstop could involve US fighter jets in Romania and Poland, or a large multi-national land force stationed on Nato’s eastern borders ready to move into Ukraine if necessary to protect European troops.
The force on the ground would therefore not be a deterrence force in itself, the official explained. The hope is that with a backstop and ceasefire deal in place, a smaller number of troops can be stationed in Ukraine.
Whether Mr Trump will be inclined to agree to the reported plan remains to be seen but it does not involve any US troops being deployed in Ukraine after the war.
Ukraine and its allies are concerned that the Trump administration will turn its back on the country as soon as any ceasefire deal is signed. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this week that Europe must provide the “overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine”.
It comes after he engaged in a war of words with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who he described on Wednesday as a “dictator” who needs to “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the report.
