Senior Cabinet minister John Healey also said 2026 ‘must be the year this terrible war ends’ – despite Putin’s Russia launching overnight strikes overnight on Kyiv
John Healey has said he wants to be the first Defence Secretary to send British troops to Ukraine as the bloody conflict enters its fifth year.
The senior Cabinet minister said 2026 “must be the year this terrible war ends” – despite Putin’s Russia launching overnight strikes on Sunday. Moscow attacked Ukraine and its capital Kyiv with a barrage of missiles and drones, killing one person, according to the country’s emergency services.
Speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Mr Healey said: “I want to be the Defence Secretary who deploys British troops to Ukraine – because this will mean that this war is finally over. It will mean we have negotiated peace in Ukraine. And a secure Europe needs a strong, sovereign Ukraine.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson claims UK should send non-combat troops to Ukraine immediatelyREAD MORE: NATO scrambles fighter jets over Europe as Putin unleashes missiles on children
Mr Healey acknowledged in his Sunday Telegraph article there is “no heavier burden” to any government committing the Armed Forces on operations. And he said the war has shown the Russian despot Putin to “never underestimate the will of the Ukrainian people”.
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Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have previously set out plans for a “coalition of the willing” if any peace deal is struck between Moscow and Kyiv. This could involve a peacekeeping force in Ukraine to police any peace deal.
The Defence Secretary’s comments came after the ex-PM Boris Johnson said the UK allies should send non-combat troops to Ukraine now to show support for Kyiv’s sovereignty.
Speaking alongside the former head of the military Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Mr Johnson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show there was “no logical reason” why there should not be non-fighting boots on the ground in Ukraine in the immediate future. “If we can have a plan for boots on the ground after the war, after Putin has condescended to have a ceasefire, then why not do it now?” he said.
But the Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson responded: “Unfortunately there are no safe areas of Ukraine. That’s the reality of where we are at the moment. We have committed to putting British troops on the ground when we secure that enduring peace – playing our full part in making sure it is upheld.”
The Education Secretary added: “There has been broad cross-party agreement on the need to get behind the brave Ukrainian people and their government. That is something Conservatives began and we have continued.”
Ms Phillipson said the UK, France and the coalition of the willing partners will play their full part once the peace deal is struck. She said: “We’re all hoping and praying it comes quickly because the loss of life and impact on the Ukrainian people is intolerable.”