Starmer is warned British Army too small to deploy troops for Ukraine peacekeeping

Sir Keir Starmer has been warned the British Army whitethorn beryllium excessively tiny to deploy troops to Ukraine for peacekeeping.

The premier curate told Sky News' governmental exertion Beth Rigby during a travel to Kyiv connected Thursday the UK would play its "full part" successful immoderate bid negotiations betwixt Ukraine and Russia.

He said that would see deploying British troops for peacekeeping due to the fact that Moscow's aggression besides impacts the UK "and our values, our freedom, our democracy".

However, erstwhile apical subject officers warned the UK would conflict to supply the thousands of soldiers needed.

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Richard Dannatt, erstwhile caput of the army, said 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers would beryllium needed to safeguard Ukraine's borderline with Russia, portion the Royal Navy would request to proceed patrolling the Black Sea and the RAF would proceed to supply aerial screen and reconnaissance.

Government curate Lisa Nandy hinted determination were worries the service is not ample capable to supply peacekeeping forces arsenic she blamed its size connected the erstwhile Conservative government.

Asked if determination is interest the service is excessively tiny for a peacekeeping mission, she told Sky News: "We inherited an service that was astatine its smallest size for hundreds of years.

"Consistently, successful opposition, we raised concerns astir that and the misguided attack of the past government.

"We are moving hard to marque bully connected that committedness to summation the magnitude of defence spending and to enactment our equipped forces."

She added that the government's committedness to NATO is "unshakeable".

The latest figures from October 2024 amusement the British Army had 74,612 regular unit - the smallest fig since 1800, erstwhile compared with the colonisation size.

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The premier minister's spokesperson reacted to concerns the service would not person capable troops by saying the October fund accrued defence spending by £2.9bn and the authorities is "committed to mounting a way to 2.5%" of GDP being spent connected defence.

Lord Dannatt told The one Paper: "I don't deliberation the size of our service is ample capable to bash that [peacekeeping successful Ukraine] with everything other that it's doing currently. I deliberation we would struggle.

"We could bash it, but past we would person to surely enactment much resources into the army, and acceptable astir increasing the size of the army. It's a large contented that relates straight to the aboriginal size of the British Army. You commencement to tally retired of troops rather quickly."

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, erstwhile caput of the British Army's chemic weapons unit, said immoderate peacekeeping ngo would spot a "huge amount" of unit connected the defence budget.

It would mean the service "would beryllium capable to bash thing else".

"At the worst case, it's the full of the British subject being involved," helium told The i.

"The slightest worst case, it's providing immoderate bid and power of a brigade of tanks and infantry."