Overview
- In a BBC interview, the former prime minister said sending personnel to peaceful areas in non-fighting roles now could “flip a switch” in Vladimir Putin’s mind.
- The Ministry of Defence reiterated that UK plans envisage deploying troops only after hostilities end and within a multinational mission, while highlighting a recent £500m air-defence package and £200m to prepare for a possible deployment.
- Former Chief of the Defence Staff Adm Sir Tony Radakin criticized years of “incrementalism” and urged the UK to meet its NATO commitment to spend 3.5% of national income on defence by 2035.
- Moscow has warned foreign troops in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets,” and any UK deployment would require a House of Commons vote under the government’s stated approach.
- Polling cited in coverage shows majority support in Britain for sending peacekeepers, as Ukraine’s war continues with reports of a drone strike hitting a Russian industrial site in the Udmurt Republic that injured 11.