Posted on 04/25/2025 7:39:57 AM PDT by ransomnote
The U.K. is expected to scale back earlier proposals to deploy thousands of ground troops to Ukraine, as officials warn the risks are now considered "too high" for such a mission.
The original plan, which included protecting Ukrainian cities, ports, and nuclear power plants, is being reconsidered in favor of a more limited and strategic presence. A source involved in the discussions told the Times, "The risks are too high and the forces inadequate for such a task. This was always the U.K.’s thought. It was France who wanted a more muscular approach."
On March 15, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented plans to send 10,000 peacekeeping troops to Ukraine at a high-level virtual summit in London. The peacekeeping mission would be "a significant force with a significant number of countries providing troops and a much larger group contributing in other ways," a senior government source told the Sunday Times.
Instead of placing troops near the front lines, the U.K. and France now aim to send military trainers to western Ukraine, fulfilling a commitment to deploy personnel without engaging in direct defense roles.
"The trainers ‘reassure’ by being there but aren’t a deterrence or protection force," the source added, expressing concern that any breakdown in a ceasefire could escalate into a broader conflict. The revised approach would shift focus toward rebuilding and equipping Ukraine’s military, with continued weapons deliveries and air and sea protection measures forming the backbone of future support.
Operation Interflex, the U.K.’s domestic training mission for Ukrainian troops, is expected to wind down by the end of the year, with operations relocating to a base near Lviv. However, Ukrainian officials remain cautious, recalling how Western trainers withdrew just before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
"Our problem now is to try and find a landing zone where Ukraine doesn’t have to break all its red lines," said a diplomatic source.
European and British officials are also working behind the scenes to advance peace talks, hoping to arrange a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome following the Pope’s funeral. “We will move our position but we want Moscow to break their red lines,” one diplomatic source explained.
The push comes amid growing fears that U.S. support could waver if Ukraine refuses to make concessions, particularly as Trump maintains a tougher stance on Zelensky than on Putin, according to British officials.
Ukraine remains under pressure to respond to a broader U.S. peace plan first presented in Paris on April 17. According to the Wall Street Journal, that plan includes U.S. recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO — two long-standing Kremlin demands.
Despite the revised strategy, the U.K. insists it remains committed to Ukraine’s defense, according to the Times. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense responded to reports of the plan change by saying, "This is speculation. Advanced operational planning within the coalition of the willing remains ongoing for options across land, sea and air, and to regenerate the Ukrainian armed forces. In the meantime, we’re continuing to support efforts for peace, while stepping up the military support for Ukraine as Putin’s illegal invasion continues."
Europe has been stiffing us on paying their NATO obligations...
Wanna bet they’re also lying about how many personnel they have in uniform and how much armament, equipment they have.
Really worried about the Rooskies, ain’t rhey...
Going to need those troops to keep order in the UK and run the Prison Camps for unwise protestors who say bad things about the Muslims.
Starman found out he has no troops ,LOL
Indeed, and obvious throughout the whole media messaging game of these last months.
The Rooskies aren’t the clear and present danger to the UK’s residents, are they.
It’s their own Deep State.
The only people, who are concerned with the fate of Ukraine, are the grifters, grafters and war-profiteers whose stake in the war doesn’t include the sacrifice of their sons and daughters in the pursuit of Lucre!
In other news, the local senior citizen’s home abandoned its plan to send a contingent of sprinters to the U.S. Olympic trials in 2028.
As if it were ever going to happen.
What? Britain doesn’t want to deploy their 2 working tanks?
It’s a terrain just like Nebraska and Kansas, with the same vast size and squirrelly weather.
Historically, it’s not really been that fun for any army shooting and moving toward the East. Now with drones and rockets zooming in from way out there, it’s the very definition of what could go wrong.
Vlad is willing to expend the last of his under-fifty men and money, never mind the demographic desert he is creating for the next couple of generations. Because he’s Russian, and that’s what they do.
The brits are too busy sending squads or armed police to arrest people for posting something they dont like online. Or silently praying in public.
That's what I see out of all this yapping.
LOL😂
Like that was ever real.
Frogs 🐸 to fold next.
Funny how this nonsense stops once Trump pulled the plug on The Little Green Goblin.
🇺🇸👍
This is my shocked face.
UK large troop deployment would consists of 6 troopers, 2 of which would be muslims, 3 others gay, and the other 1 is a women of color - as long as she is not white.
The muslims will not go, if the gay guys go; the gay guys are afraid to go, if the muslims go and; the woman is pregnant and not deployable.
So the British Military brass had to call it off.
“ France should clam up.”
Where is the French foreign legion?
IOW: the US isn’t willing to front the bulk of the force anymore, so we’re out
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