UK military ‘too stretched’ to provide troops under Ukraine peace deal

UK military ‘too stretched’ to provide troops under Ukraine peace deal



Posted by theipaper

10 comments

  1. The UK will be forced to reduce existing military commitments in order to send troops to Ukraine, an expert and former senior official has said.

    The UK is a leading member of the [Coalition of the Willing](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/starmer-convenes-coalition-of-the-willing-for-second-ukraine-meeting-3586554?srsltid=AfmBOor_c6cNu7PvdPna3pxy9BSbrg6TvN_OJAUcAv_iUmwB4ymgkd9E&ico=in-line_link), a group of around 30 countries set to offer Ukraine protection and recovery assistance at the end of the war.

    The group has developed [“mature operational plans”](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-of-the-coalition-of-the-willing-meeting-by-the-leaders-of-the-united-kingdom-france-and-ukraine-10-july-2025) to deploy a “reassurance force” known as Multinational Force Ukraine once hostilities have ended, with the UK [committing to supplying “boots on the ground and planes in the air”.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vygkzkkrvo)

    While no ceasefire agreement is imminent,[ US President Donald Trump is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin for bilateral talks](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/uk-politics-latest-news-keir-starmer-gaza-migration-3840626?ico=in-line_link) about ending the war in Alaska next week.

    The UK Government has remained tightlipped about its plans, including troop numbers and costs, but said in a [joint statement](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-leaders-statement-on-peace-for-ukraine) yesterday that it stands ready to support peace in Ukraine by “upholding our substantive military and financial support” to Kyiv.

  2. The West is trying to make Ukraine surrender to Putin and to exploit it. Afghanistan didn’t surrender.

  3. With Russia potentially threatening the northern flank putting 5 or 6 brigades of European troops in eastern Ukraine – with Belarus and the Suwalki gap between them and Vilnius, let alone the difference in railway gauges between Ukraine and Poland – seems like a terrible idea. If we ever needed them elsewhere, it would be impossible to get them out in anything less than a couple of months.

  4. We’ve known this for a while.

    There’s simply not enough European countries willing to send troops, that’d make a permanent, and meaningful, combat deployment of troops viable. Hence why the discussion has so quickly moved towards protecting Ukraine’s airspace & waters from Russian incursion.

    This coalition of the willing is a nice gesture, but it’s just that. A gesture. There’s no meaningful peace settlement unless the United States provides hard security guarantees for Ukraine. And backs it up with troop deployments (although, not necessarily within Ukraine). If the US doesn’t provide, and support, hard security guarantees, Putin will be marching through the Ukrainian frontlines again in very short order.

  6. Really ? Because just last week or two, Britain said it will commit to any possible conflict in Taiwan if needed.

    Not enough troops for Ukraine which is closer to home, but willing to go to war half the globe away.

    Make it make sense.

  7. “Too stretched” is a nice way of saying that the UK has a military thats practically useless after being excessively downsized. Can the UK even deploy abroad a *single* full strength division?

  8. UK currently spends £57 billion on defence. If we can’t provide troops, that means the money in not being well spent.

  10. Maybe allow the migrants to join, plenty of them in the hotels from what I’ve seen /s

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