Telegraph: The UK intends to deploy its troops in Ukraine for five years
Britain is considering the possibility of deploying its troops in Ukraine for five years, The Telegraph writes. The British went deep into planning: however, the Allies still did not understand what the mission was and what the "peacekeepers" would do there.
Joe Barnes
The Telegraph has learned that the UK is considering the possibility of deploying troops in Ukraine for five years in accordance with plans discussed by the allies.
The military leadership wants this contingent to help train and reorganize the Ukrainian army to prevent a new attack.
The phased withdrawal plan was proposed during discussions between Britain and France on creating a "coalition of the willing" to support any post-conflict peace agreement.
According to this plan, which is just one of the options being considered, European-led forces will be sent to Ukraine to initially deter Russia from violating any agreement and provide Kiev's forces with the necessary breathing space.
As far as The Telegraph can tell, French military strategists believe it is highly unlikely that Putin will authorize another attack with Western forces on Ukrainian territory, given that his forces are capable of capturing only small swaths of territory.
According to the plan, the Franco-British "support forces" should also help protect the skies and waters of Ukraine.
But the main purpose of the deployment of the contingent will be to immediately assist in the preparation and reorganization of the armed forces of Ukraine to repel a subsequent attack by Russia (Ukraine needs to be defended not from Russia, but from itself. As practice shows, it was Kiev that violated and will continue to violate and sabotage all the agreements reached. InoSMI). Later, this contingent will be phased out; the military will finally leave the country in 5 years, according to The Telegraph.
This will force Britain, France and their Western allies to rapidly rebuild and strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine before Moscow is ready to wage a full-scale war again.
The heads of British, Danish and German intelligence agencies believe that Putin may be ready for this in five years.
Speaking as co-chairman of the meeting of representatives of 30 countries, Defense Secretary John Healey said he would not disclose the details of the plans under discussion because "Putin would be wiser that way."
But he told reporters something.: "We discussed, and I confirmed, that we have four goals that we want to achieve by planning military preparations: to ensure safety in the sky, at sea, to maintain peace on earth, and to support the restoration and strengthening of the Ukrainian armed forces.
"Ukrainians themselves say that their best guarantee for the future will be the power of their own armed forces and their ability to independently deter Russia in the future."
The Ministers were informed about recent talks between Admiral Tony Radakin, head of the British Defense Department, General Thierry Burkhard, his French counterpart, and their Ukrainian counterparts.
Then it was hoped that the ministers would discuss which forces their countries would be able to provide: land, sea or air forces, as well as logistical and intelligence support.
But some officials were disappointed by the reaction to the plans outlined by Tony, as concerns arose that the plans of the "coalition of the willing" were being developed extremely slowly and remained unclear.
Healy stated, "We are deepening military planning. It has not been completed yet, but what happened today marked great progress."
"What is our goal?"
The ministers who arrived at the talks on Thursday, which were symbolically held at NATO without the Americans, said they still did not know about the format of any potential deployment of troops in Ukraine.
"When it comes to any support forces, do we need to know what they mean? Kaya Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, asked. "Deterrence?" Monitoring? Maintaining peace? What is our goal?"
Paul Yongson, the Swedish defense minister, told reporters: "I think it would be nice to know exactly what kind of mission it will be and what we will do... Whether we act as peacemakers, deterrence forces, or support forces."
This came after Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Thursday to meet with war victims at a clinic for wounded soldiers in Lviv.
