Britain’s foreign secretary is on a visit to Ukraine barely a fortnight after the prime minister said the UK will “play its full part” in securing a lasting peace, including by potentially deploying troops.
With war with Russia still raging, David Lammy’s trip today also comes as Kyiv waits to hear how the new US president plans to achieve a self-declared pledge to end the conflict.
In his latest intervention on Monday, Donald Trump said that he would continue to support Ukraine in return for access to its wealth of rare earth minerals such as lithium, uranium and titanium.
Mr Lammy, who is due to hold meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top ministers, said Britain’s support for Ukraine “remains unbreakable”.
“We are determined to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both in its fight against Russia and beyond,” he said in a statement.
While he is announcing £55m in support for areas such as energy, grain and social services, the course of Russia’s full-scale war will surely feature most prominently in discussions.
The fighting is due to enter its fourth year on 24 February and anticipation is growing for the start of some kind of negotiation for a ceasefire.
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The foreign secretary said: “We believe in building for the future between our two countries, as well as supporting Ukraine in the present, as Russia’s barbaric and relentless attacks on vital infrastructure, communities, and businesses continue.”
The UK and France are talking with other NATO partners about the possibility of providing some kind of security force to be deployed on the ground inside Ukraine to monitor any peace deal – should one be agreed between Moscow and Kyiv.
Such an undertaking, however, would be a huge challenge, requiring thousands of troops at a minimum, and raising the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO nations. Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, despite asking repeatedly to join.
There are serious questions about whether European NATO allies have the strength to be able to provide a credible monitoring force or whether the United States would have to be involved.
Asked by Sky News political editor Beth Rigby during his trip to Kyiv whether he would consider deploying troops to Ukraine as part of a future peace negotiation, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would “play its full part”.
But he added: “I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. This has to be enduring. It has to be lasting. It needs to be sufficient to deter further aggression [by Russia].”
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On Wednesday, Mr Lammy brought with him relatively minor offers of non-military assistance compared with the massive task of credible security guarantees – something that analysts say the UK will struggle to do without a significant increase in defence spending and an expansion of its own military capabilities and capacity.
The foreign secretary’s focus includes £3m to support a push to increase grain supplies to Syria following the collapse of the rule of Bashar al Assad, a close ally of Mr Putin.
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said previously that Russia likely used Ukrainian grain seized from occupied territory to send to the Assad regime.
Mr Lammy will also announce £17m for energy projects to support the recovery and sustainability of Ukraine’s energy system – frequently a target of Russian bombardments.
A further £10m will be allocated to support rebuilding Ukraine’s economy, while £25m will go towards social services.
It is Mr Lammy’s second official visit to Ukraine since taking office.
