Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer warns Putin would face ‘severe consequences’ for breaching a ceasefire deal
Sir Keir Starmer has warned Vladimir Putin he will face “severe consequences” if he breaches any ceasefire deal.
The UK prime minister issued the warning in response to a question about whether UK troops could be drawn into Russia’s war in Ukraine as he attended a meeting of defence chiefs from 31 allied countries aimed at drawing up military plans to enforce a peace deal.
Speaking at the Northwood military headquarters in London on Thursday, he said he was “certain” the Russian president would flout the terms of a truce unless security arrangements were in place to ensure sovereignty for Kyiv.
Sir Keir said the military planning for the so-called “coalition of the willing” involved offering support to Ukraine by air, sea and land if a deal were reached. But he ruled out redeploying UK troops from countries such as Estonia to commit to Kyiv.
The warning comes after Ukraine launched a major drone assault on the Soviet-era Engels airfield, an airbase deep inside Russia that is key to the relentless missile attacks against Ukrainian cities by Putin’s forces.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky had said Russia’s continued strikes on Ukraine show their “true attitude towards peace” in the wake of another 170 drones being launched at targets across the country.
