Putting UK boots on the ground in Ukraine would cost ‘over £100million’, says Defence Secretary

Putting UK boots on the ground after a Ukraine peace deal would cost ‘well over £100million’, the Defence Secretary said last night.

Speaking in London, John Healey revealed Britain has been planning in detail along with its Coalition of the Willing over the last six months.

He said: ‘Peace is possible, and if President Trump can broker a peace, we will be ready to help secure that peace for the long term.

‘That requires us to invest and prepare our forces to be ready to deploy.

‘Keir Starmer has said, if necessary, he’s willing to see UK boots on the ground in Ukraine, and I’ve accelerated already millions of pounds in that preparation for any possible deployment in the event of peace. 

‘I would expect the cost of that to be well over £100million.’

It is understood the cost would cover an entry package, including the initial deployment of troops and aircraft, and is separate to the £4.5billion in military aid already allocated to Ukraine.

Mr Healey added: ‘A sovereign Ukraine is not just essential for Ukrainians, but it is important for the security of all of us.

It came as Sir Keir urged allies to ‘cripple’ Russia economically, following Volodymyr Zelensky’s apparent failure to convince Donald Trump to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.

The PM said: ‘We must be resolute in our support for Ukraine and I’m committed to intensifying our efforts to cripple Putin’s war machine.’

European allies rallied around Mr Zelensky following bruising talks with Mr Trump at the White House on Friday.

According to reports, he tried to strong-arm the Ukrainian president into accepting a territorial sacrifice to seal a peace deal with the Kremlin.

Mr Zelensky apparently refused, prompting a furious response from Mr Trump who warned that Russia would ‘destroy’ Ukraine otherwise.

The Coalition of the Willing, led by the UK and France, is due to discuss further support for Ukraine on Friday.