Sir Keir Starmer’s readiness to send British troops to Ukraine could stumble at the first hurdle, an expert has warned.
The Prime Minister wrote at the weekend that he was willing to send personnel as part of a multi-national peacekeeping force if one were to be agreed as part of a deal to end Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion.
But now, Dr Lily Hamourtziadou, course leader in MA Security Studies at Birmingham City University, has said that Sir Keir could encounter some problems.
One of these is “consent from Russia”.
Dr Hamourtziadou said: “With the UK being a member of NATO, it is not impartial in this war, and the UK Government’s treatment of Ukraine and refugees since the start of the conflict has shown its support of the country.”
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, “may not agree to further NATO involvement in Ukraine”, she added.
Secondly, the specialist suggested that the fact that NATO operators are involved “does not always prevent civilian casualties”.
She added: “The only civilian deaths this could prevent are British citizens who have travelled to Ukraine to support the military there, with at least 15 Britons dying on the front line.”
The PM’s focus, Dr Hamourtziadou said, should be on peacekeeping operations, which involve “far more than boots on the ground”.
Sir Keir’s suggestion of a European peacekeeping force appeared to be rejected by some leaders who attended an emergency summit on Ukraine on Monday in Paris.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described talk of boots on the ground as “premature”.
He added: “This is highly inappropriate, to put it bluntly, and – honestly – we don’t even know what the outcome will be.”
Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, told Times Radio on Tuesday morning it would be “normal, if circumstances allow, for Parliament to be consulted” on military action.
But she added: “I do think we are some way away from this at the moment.”
