The Telegraph reported that British Defense Minister John Healey said that British soldiers will participate in supporting the reconstruction of the Ukrainian armed forces, rather than directly participating in the fighting, after Kiev and Moscow reached a ceasefire.
According to Mr. Healey, British soldiers are expected to be deployed in western Ukraine, a area far from the front line, to support Kiev in building a force capable of preventing potential attacks from Russia in the future.
In addition to the ground force, the Royal Air Force and Navy will also be ready to protect Ukrainian airspace and sea areas when necessary.
Mr. Healey affirmed that this plan is in line with US President Donald Trump's efforts to promote a just and sustainable peace between the two countries.
Observers say the new plan marks a major shift from the original proposal, which called for peacekeeping forces to protect key cities, seaports and nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
Instead, the West is now aiming for a training mission, "safe" through presence, not for the purpose of direct deterrence or defense.
According to The Times last week, the reason why the British government had to give up the plan to deploy troops to Ukraine post -conflict because they found that the risk was too big and the existing force was not enough to take on the expected role.
Previously, in early March, the UK and France led discussions with several European NATO countries about sending troops to Ukraine under a so-called voluntary alliance. The initiative was initially strongly supported, with 30 out of 44 member countries expressing goodwill.
However, in April, at a meeting between the defense ministers of about 30 European countries in Brussels ( Belgian), the number of countries committed to withdrawing to 6, including the UK, France, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and one country that had not yet announced its identities.
On the Russian side, on April 24, Secretary of the Russian National Security Council Sergey Shoigu continued to warn that the presence of Western soldiers in Ukraine could lead to a direct confrontation between Moscow and NATO, with the risk of escalating into World War III. He stressed that Russia can use nuclear weapons in case of an attack, regardless of the form.
