The former Prime Minsiter claimed British soldiers should be sent to peaceful regions in non-fighting roles, and that it would ‘flip a switch’ in Vladimir Putin’s head
The UK and its allies should deploy troops to Ukraine immediately, Boris Johnson has claimed.
The former PM claimed soldiers should be sent to peaceful regions in non-fighting roles, and that it would “flip a switch” in Vladimir Putin’s head. Keir Starmer is currently working with UK allies on a “coalition of the willing” to provide forces to preserve peace and stability in Ukraine, but only if there is a peace deal.
Claiming a delay to act cost lives, Mr Johnson said: “We’ve always delayed needlessly. We’ve then ended up giving the Ukrainians what they have been asking for, and actually it’s always served to their advantage and to the disadvantage of Putin.
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“I mean, the one person who suffers from escalation is Putin. If we can have boots on the ground after the war, after Putin has condescended to have a ceasefire, then why not do it now?
“Just to make this point that it is up to the Ukrainians, and these people wouldn’t be there in a war-fighting capacity, right?”
It comes as Ukrainian drones struck an industrial site deep inside Russia on Saturday, which a Russian news channel said was a key state-owned missile factory. The attack in Russia’s Udmurt Republic left 11 people wounded, three of whom were hospitalized, according to a Telegram post by Sergei Bagin, the local health minister.
Challenged on sending troops to UKraine, Mr Johnson insisted it should be immediate.
He said: “There is no logical reason that I can see why we shouldn’t send peaceful ground forces there to show our support, our constitutional support for a free, independent Ukraine. That is a political thing. It’s about whether Ukraine is a free country or not. If it’s a vassal state of Russia, which is what Putin wants, then obviously it’s up to Putin to decide who comes to his country. If it’s not, then it’s up to the Ukrainians.”
Mr Johnson added that the failure to confront Putin over the annexation of Crimea in 2014, when David Cameron was the UK prime minister, was “tragic”.
Responding, an MoD spokesperson said: “We are proud of UK leadership on Ukraine – supporting the fight today and working to secure the peace tomorrow. It’s why this government is providing the highest ever level of military support, including a recent half-billion-pound air defence package just last week, accelerating £200m for the UK military to prepare for any Ukraine deployment, and working with over 30 nations through the UK-led Coalition of the Willing.”