Britain points to small army for peacekeeping role in Ukraine
The UK army is "too small" to take part in the peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. This was reported by The i Paper on January 16.
According to the paper, it would be difficult for the British Armed Forces to deploy thousands of troops to maintain peace in Ukraine because of its small size.
"I don't think the size of our army is big enough to do that with everything else it does now. I think we would struggle to do it," noted former Army Commander Richard Dannatt.
Up to 10,000 soldiers could be needed to guard the Ukraine-Russia border, he said, as well as the Royal Navy patrolling in the Black Sea and the Royal Air Force patrolling the skies, providing reconnaissance and air cover.
Col. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former tank commander who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the publication that any UK peacekeeping mission would put pressure on the country's defense ministry budget.
The paper notes that the contingent of the British army could be about 10-15% of the allied coalition forces. At the same time, sending 5 thousand British servicemen will mean the training of four more brigades. Then the total number of soldiers involved will amount to 25 thousand people, writes i.
Earlier in the day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview with Sky News that he is ready to deploy British peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. He noted that London would play a "full role" in any peace talks on the Ukrainian conflict.
Before that, on January 15, The Telegraph newspaper reported that Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are considering sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. It is specified that the details of these talks are still being kept secret. According to the newspaper, Starmer has not yet made a final decision.
The next day, the deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee, Yuriy Shvytkin, pointed out in a conversation with Izvestiya that NATO member states have no right to deploy a peacekeeping contingent on the territory of Ukraine because they are an interested party. He emphasized that he was against the deployment of French and British peacekeepers in Ukraine and added that this would escalate tension in the region and become a de facto occupation of the country.
On January 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expires on May 20, 2024, said that he had discussed the initiative to deploy Western military units with French President Emmanuel Macron during a phone call. He also announced a pact of close cooperation in the development of effective security guarantees for Ukraine.
On January 10, it became known that Starmer would soon visit Ukraine to discuss the deployment of peacekeeping forces there after the end of the conflict. Zelenskyy added that the initiative to send peacekeepers to Ukraine was put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
