John Healey will warn today Russia’s Putin must face “even more pressure” – as he meets with allies to plan for a lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine.
The Defence Secretary will deliver the message as arrives in Brussels today alongside top ministers from 30 nations in support of Kyiv. He is expected to host the meeting alongside the French minister for the armed forces, Sébastien Lecornu, to discuss the latest plans to police any peace deal.
It forms the latest of meetings of the “coalition of the willing” – countries prepared to provide military support to maintain any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Keir Starmer has repeatedly said he is willing to put UK boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force with allies to deter Russian aggression.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the meeting today will focus on how capabilities of each nation could be best used in support of Ukraine. Mr Healey is expected to tell the meeting: “A couple of weeks ago, I visited the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters where military leaders from around 30 nations were developing options and progressing plans.
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“I was struck by their sense of historic responsibility to secure the peace in Ukraine and to strengthen European security for all our nations.”
He will add: “We cannot jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war, so we must put even more pressure on Putin and step up our support for Ukraine – both in today’s fight and the push for peace. Our commitment is to put Ukraine in the strongest position to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression.”
On Friday Mr Healey will also chair a meeting with Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, to discuss plans to boost military support for Zelensky.
It follows a meeting of French and UK military chiefs in Kyiv at the weekend, which included Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Tony Radakin. Last month Mr Starmer also met with world leaders in Paris to discuss plans for a “coalition of the willing”.
He also accused Putin of “playing games” over peace talks, saying: “It’s clear the Russians are filibustering. They are playing games and they are playing for time – it is a classic from the Putin playbook.”
The PM also told world leaders gathered at the Elysee Palace on Thursday had also agreed “now is not the time” to lift any sanctions on Russia – despite demands from Moscow. “On the contrary, now is the time to increase sanctions on Russia to get them to the table on negotiations,” he added at the end of March.
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