MODThe UK army is “so run down” it couldn’t lead any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the previous head of the Military has stated.
Lord Dannatt informed the PRESSHARK that as much as 40,000 UK troops could be wanted for such a mission and “we simply have not received that quantity accessible”.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer stated the UK would “play its half” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s safety after the prime minister was requested this week if he was open to sending British troops as peacekeepers.
A former Nato chief informed the PRESSHARK that Britain and France ought to lead a drive of as much as 100,000 troops as a part of a long-term peacekeeping effort ought to Russia’s warfare with Ukraine finish.
US President Donald Trump earlier this week introduced he had had a prolonged dialog together with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and that negotiations to cease the “ridiculous warfare” in Ukraine would start “instantly”.
Trump then “knowledgeable” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, of his plan.
Lord Dannatt – who was head of the Military from 2006 to 2009 – agreed {that a} drive to maintain the peace would require about 100,000 troops.
Nonetheless he stated the UK must provide “fairly a proportion of that and we actually could not do it”.
“Our army is so run down at this time second, numerically and so far as functionality and gear is anxious, it might doubtlessly be fairly embarrassing,” he informed PRESSHARK Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster.
“I imply, if we have been to deploy 10,000 troops, every rotation for six months, that might successfully tie up 30,000 or 40,000 troops and we simply have not received that quantity accessible.
“So there are some massive points right here that as we speak’s politicians will not actually have thought of.”
It comes as Britain’s overseas and defence secretaries known as on the UK and Europe to “do extra” to “share the burden” of regional safety in a joint article for the Every day Telegraph on Saturday.
UK International Secretary David Lammy stated he was “very inspired” by his talks on Ukraine with US Vice-President JD Vance on Friday, on the primary day of the Munich Safety Convention.
“We share the view that there needs to be an everlasting peace,” Lammy informed Reuters information company following the assembly.
“There was an settlement that Zelensky and the Ukrainians need to be a part of that negotiated deal.”
The talks got here after Vance gave a speech on the convention, by which he was anticipated to handle attainable talks to finish the warfare however as an alternative attacked European democracies.
Within the deal with, he stated the best menace going through the continent was not from Russia and China, however “from inside”.
He added that Europe should “step up in a giant manner to offer for its personal defence” and stated he hoped a “cheap settlement” could possibly be reached for the warfare.
Lammy and his defence colleague John Healey stated that Putin had for 20 years sought “to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the international locations round its borders”.
“Too typically prior to now, the West has let him,” they stated within the Telegraph.
“We did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.”
PA MediaAnders Fogh Rasmussen, who was Nato secretary-general from 2009 to 2014, stated “quite a lot of European international locations have to step as much as the plate” for any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, including that the UK and France ought to lead that coalition by placing boots on the bottom.
“I’d let army specialists decide [the number] however my guess could be between 50,000 and 100,000 troops,” he informed PRESSHARK Newsnight.
As of October 2024, there have been 74,612 members of the UK’s common Military forces (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers), in response to the newest Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures.
The Military has targets on what number of new recruits beneath the rank of officer it ought to tackle yearly, set out by the MoD. These targets have been missed in nearly each single monetary yr since 2010-11, in response to a written reply to Parliament final January.
Lord Dannatt stated the Labour authorities would wish to “take a look at their priorities”, including: “Sure, well being, schooling, roads, infrastructure are vital, however really defence and the safety of this nation are extra vital.”
The crossbench peer stated he believes the UK authorities must go additional than its dedication of accelerating defence spending to 2.5% of GDP – a pledge that they’ve but to place a timeline on when it will likely be delivered.
Zelensky has beforehand requested for the UK and different European allies together with France to ship troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping operation after the warfare.
Sir Keir final month signed a “landmark” 100-year pact with Ukraine, constructing on the £12.8bn the UK hass already despatched to the nation, with additional commitments of £3bn yearly for “so long as it takes”.
The UK may even proceed to coach Ukrainian troops, 50,000 of whom have been skilled on British soil thus far.
In response to Lord Dannatt’s feedback, an MoD spokesperson stated Britain’s armed forces have been “revered worldwide for his or her professionalism and excellence”.
“Proper now, the Ukrainians are nonetheless combating with big braveness. Our authorities is stepping up assist for Ukraine’s warfare fighters to place them in the absolute best place for any talks.
The spokesperson cited a £150m “firepower bundle” introduced this week “offering extra drones, tanks and air defence techniques”.
