British Troops Could Lead Multi-National Military Force in Ukraine: Controversial Peace Plans with Russia
Thousands of British troops could lead a multi-national military force in Ukraine under a proposal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict with Russia. This surprising plan surfaced as Russian President Vladimir Putin – in his first comments following Donald Trump’s election victory – declared NATO a “blatant anachronism.”
As part of a peace initiative being considered by Trump’s security advisers, UK and other European troops would secure an 800-mile buffer zone between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with European leaders in Budapest at the European Political Community summit, where he warned that concessions to Russia would be “suicidal” for Europe.
According to details reported by The Wall Street Journal, no American troops would be deployed to the war zone; instead, the financial burden and military presence would fall on Britain and other European nations. This plan aligns with Trump’s isolationist rhetoric, as he has criticized the scale of US support for Ukraine – a commitment amounting to $175 billion – and claimed he could broker a deal to end the conflict.
The proposal sparked outrage among senior UK security sources, who argued that it would benefit Russia while forcing Ukraine to accept a division of its territory. Meanwhile, at a security conference in Sochi, Putin mocked NATO’s dependence on the US, suggesting this reliance would only deepen under a Trump administration.
Putin argued that without US leadership, NATO would lose the ability to maintain its “zone of influence.” This claim is backed by official NATO figures, which reveal that the US spends twice as much on defense as all other alliance members combined. Trump’s “America First” strategy includes withdrawing from European security obligations, which could leave NATO exposed.
Such a scenario, along with Putin’s potential response, may present the greatest threat NATO has faced since its inception after World War Two. In outlining his country’s foreign policy goals, Putin remarked that NATO is subject to the “dictates of the older brother” – the United States – contrasting this imbalance with the supposed equality in the BRICS group of nations, an intergovernmental organization composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Trump’s peace plan has been sharply criticized by former British military leaders. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army commander, commented, “This would be a capitulation to Putin, rewarding him for his war crimes.” He further warned that British troops acting as peacekeepers in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine could give Putin time to rearm and prepare for an assault on the Baltic states. According to de Bretton-Gordon, the plan as outlined is exactly what the Kremlin wants to hear.
Former UK military intelligence officer Philip Ingram added that any forced peace that appeared to grant Russia territorial gains could potentially ignite World War Three.
