The UK is preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a “reassurance force” if a peace deal is reached with Russia, Downing Street has said.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer co-chaired a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on Tuesday morning, attended by more than 30 international leaders, after Monday’s talks in Washington.
The meeting saw leaders discuss possible further sanctions on Russia in order to pile pressure on Putin to end the hostilities, as well as plans to meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to put in place security guarantees for Ukraine.
Leaders are currently trying to nail down specifics of US security guarantees with talks expected on this as soon as Tuesday.
While Donald Trump has said the US is willing to help with aspects of security for Ukraine, such as through air support, he has ruled out putting US boots on the ground.
The prime minister was one of several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who travelled to Washington on Monday as Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with the US President.
On Monday, Mr Trump said he had spoken directly with Vladimir Putin to begin planning a meeting between the Russian leader and Mr Zelensky, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting with him.
In a statement after Tuesday’s meeting came to an end, a Downing Street spokesperson said “coalition of the willing” planning teams would “meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended”.
The UK and France have pledged to commit forces to Ukraine to deter Mr Putin from launching a fresh assault on his neighbour if a deal is done to end the war.
The prime minister told European leaders at Tuesday’s meeting that the talks in Washington displayed a “real sense of unity” and demonstrated the “shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, the spokesperson said.
“The leaders also discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion”.
It is understood that the UK’s chief of defence staff, Sir Tony Radakin, is travelling to Washington this afternoon to hold talks with US officials.
Sir Keir hailed Monday’s Washington talks as a “real significant breakthrough”, saying they showed that “we have moved forward”.
He told the BBC he was “very pleased” with the outcomes, including progress on security guarantees, saying this would “reassure people in Europe, in Ukraine, but particularly in the United Kingdom.”
Sir Keir’s comments came as the US president admitted it would be a “rough situation” if Mr Putin failed to agree peace terms – but stressed that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had to show flexibility, including giving up hopes of getting Crimea back or joining Nato.
He also insisted Moscow will “accept” multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine’s security.