Starmer Ready to Deploy Peacekeeping Troops in Ukraine as Europe Holds Emergency Talks

UK Labour leader Keir Starmer expresses readiness to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine amid escalating tensions, as European leaders hold urgent discussions on the crisis.

As European leaders gear up for urgent discussions in Paris, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expresses his readiness to deploy UK peacekeeping forces to Ukraine once the war concludes.

Starmer expresses his readiness to “support security assurances for Ukraine, potentially involving the deployment of our troops if needed.”

His remarks coincide with the meeting of European leaders in Paris on Monday afternoon to discuss Ukraine and defense.

At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia for discussions with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov regarding Ukraine, which are scheduled to commence on Tuesday.

According to a government source, the BBC reports that Ukraine has not been invited to these talks. However, Donald Trump states that Ukraine “will be involved” in negotiations aimed at ending the war.

In February 2022, Russia initiated a comprehensive invasion of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, at least 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives defending the nation. On Sunday alone, at least three civilians were killed.

Russian state-run media reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yuriy Ushakov, are traveling to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with US officials.

Earlier, we reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also scheduled to arrive in the capital, Riyadh, where he planned to meet with Moscow officials and initiate talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war.

Rubio is joined by Mike Waltz, the U.S. National Security Adviser, and Steve Witkoff, the Special Envoy to the Middle East.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has summoned European leaders to the Elysée Palace for an urgent meeting regarding Ukraine, shares a long-standing history with Vladimir Putin.

Following former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s exit from politics in 2021, France aimed to assume Germany’s position as Europe’s primary diplomatic link to Russia.

Two weeks prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Macron visited Moscow for a meeting with Putin—a last-ditch but ultimately unsuccessful effort to avert the war.

Since then, communication between Moscow and Paris has been minimal, with France emerging as one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies.

In 2023, Putin accused Macron of damaging their previously “good relationship.”

The French leader now faces the challenging task of persuading the Kremlin that his country—and Europe as a whole—merits participation in negotiations regarding a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.

The foreign minister stated to the country’s public broadcaster that Sweden might strengthen Ukraine’s peacekeeping mission following the war.

Maria Malmer Stenergard’s remarks follow Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement that the UK is “ready and willing” to aid in security assurances for Kyiv, potentially involving the deployment of British troops.

Stenergard tells Sveriges Radio, “Our priority is to negotiate a just and sustainable peace that upholds international law, respects Ukraine’s sovereignty, and ensures Russia cannot simply retreat now only to regroup and attack Ukraine or another country in the coming years.”

Local authorities reported that Russian shelling in Ukraine on Sunday resulted in the deaths of at least three civilians.

Vadym Filashkin, the head of the regional military administration, reported that Russian shelling resulted in the deaths of two residents from Bilytske village in eastern Donetsk.

Bilytske is located near the strategic town of Pokrovsk, which has witnessed intense fighting for several months.

According to Serhiy Lysak, the head of the regional administration, a 52-year-old man tragically lost his life due to shrapnel wounds in Nikopol, located in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. Additionally, a 74-year-old local resident was injured as a result of Russian shelling.

BBC