Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The “Coalition of Willing” are meeting this week, and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky is expected to join.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said European forces could move into Ukraine “within weeks” if a ceasefire is agreed, BBC reports.
Healey confirmed that Britain and its allies were prepared to help secure any peace deal brokered between Washington and Moscow.
“If President Trump can broker a peace, then we will be ready to help secure that peace,” Healey said, adding that Ukrainians must remain the ones who “decide how and what” is negotiated.
A coordinated effort
The deployment plans were drawn up by the “coalition of the willing”, a 26-nation alliance founded by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year to support Ukraine’s security.
Healey revealed that “over 200 military planners from 38-plus nations” have been working for six months to prepare for a possible ceasefire. Under the plan, a multinational force could be deployed to help secure Ukraine’s borders.
In a speech at the London Lord Mayor’s Annual Defence Lecture, Healey warned that Vladimir Putin sees Britain as his “number one enemy” because of its strong backing for Kyiv.
He said Europe faces a “new era of threat” and that the risk of conflict spreading has not been this high since the end of World War Two.
Healey also announced new powers allowing British soldiers to shoot down drones threatening military bases, following a series of mysterious sightings over UK and European facilities.
Fractures in diplomacy
Reports from Washington suggest a heated meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ended in a “shouting match”. Sources claim Trump pushed Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region to Russia, warning that Putin would “destroy” the country if Kyiv refused.
Zelensky had been seeking US Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory, but left Washington empty-handed.
More than 1,300 days into the invasion, Russia is believed to have suffered over a million casualties and now spends 40% of its budget on the war, Healey said. Moscow has leaned heavily on support from North Korea, Iran and China.
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, which may have used AI in the preparation
