UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine, ex-defence minister says

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The UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine a former defence minister has stated days after President Zelensky warned his nation was susceptible to dropping its warfare with Russia.

British forces may give help and coaching to Ukrainians of their battle towards Putin’s invasion, James Heappey advised.

But personnel would have to be evaded the frontline, to stop sparking a battle between Russia and Nato.

He additionally warned the UK’s armed forces have been operating “incredibly hot” and that the UK had to be higher ready for a possible warfare, amid rising threats around the globe.

One approach of reaching this could possibly be via a big “strategic reserve” drive of hundreds of veterans, who could possibly be known as up at a time of nationwide disaster, he stated in an interview with Sky News.

Asked about the potential of western troops on the bottom in Ukraine, he stated: “I think you’ve got to be careful about how you do it. I think definitely nowhere near a combat zone. I think you’ve got to be very, very careful not to make it into a Russo-NATO war.

“But I do assume it’s price exploring what within the type of deeper – within the depth of Ukraine – the donor neighborhood may do.”

On British troops on a training mission inside Ukraine, he said: “I think it is worth considering.”

The ex-minister, who stepped down from his role last month, warned that if personnel were pushed “too hard” many could leave.

He told Sky News: “The reality is is that we are running them incredibly hot.”

He also predicted “we are going to be running our forces as busy as they are for a very long time to come and if we are going to do that, bearing in mind that they have an absolute right to leave when we push them too hard and lots of them are, we need a bigger force in order to be able to meet the ambition.”

Mr Heappey has urged Rishi Sunak to increase defence spending now to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Another former defence minister said any deployment of UK troops to Ukraine would have to be done as part of a wider coalition.

Tobias Ellwood said: “If we were to send any troops ourselves, I think it would need to be done as part of a coalition.

“The call by Ukraine right now is actually not for personnel, it is desperately for equipment.”

Earlier this week President Zelensky warned Ukraine would “will lose the war” if the United States Congress didn’t approve billions in army assist being held up by Republican politicians.