UK peacekeeping force getting ready to deploy to Ukraine ...Middle East

The UK is ramping up preparations to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine, including buying up kit and finalising deployment plans, The i Paper understands.

Officials are confident that a peace deal appears closer than ever before as US negotiators prepare to hand a Ukraine-backed proposal to the Kremlin.

Defence Secretary John Healey has said that the UK is “raising our readiness levels” to deploy British troops in the event of a deal, whose presence would be designed to deter further Russian attacks.

“I continue to direct funding to prepare our UK troops and Armed Forces so that we are ready to deploy when peace comes with troops on the ground and jets in the air,” he told a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

There are “signals of a progress in the peace talks, which is further advanced than at any time during this war,” according to Healey.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected peace deals proposed by the US and Ukraine and there are still significant disputes over territory.

The Ministry of Defence is currently examining its “notice to move” process – the period of time for a unit to be ready to deploy – and advancing plans on the locations where troops would deploy from and to, The i Paper understands.

It is also beginning the process of accelerating spending on equipment to keep troops safe, known as force protection, and on necessary kit.

The kit required will depend on the role of the force, as defined by any peace agreement, but could range from drone technology to electronic warfare equipment, vehicles and body armour.

‘Buzz’ as deployment plans step up

One military insider suggested that troops would likely be deployed from within the UK, rather than be pulled away from other exercises or operations elsewhere, but that talks were ongoing.

The UK has a large presence in Estonia, which shares an 183-mile border with Russia, where 900 personnel are rotating continuously alongside French troops.

Britain also contributes to other Nato deployments including Eastern Sentry, which bolsters security along the alliance’s eastern flank, and takes part in UN missions around the world.

Another source said there was now a “buzz” around planning for deployment in the event of a peace deal.

“The Coalition of the Willing have been working on these plans for a long time,” the defence source said. “The pace is increasing and plans are firming up, now that there is a genuine prospect of a ceasefire.”

One model which could be adopted by the Coalition is a centrally deployed force which moves around according to where Russian troops may amass, the insider suggested, because permanent positions along the length of the Russian-Ukraine border could strain manpower.

The troops could otherwise be tasked with training Ukrainians or carrying out exercises.

If a Nato presence in Ukraine is a deal breaker for Putin in the peace talks, this group could be stationed in an allied country like Poland rather than Ukraine, but be ready to move in where needed, the source suggested.

Poland has so far been reluctant to put boots on the ground in Ukraine, but has played host to large contigents of Nato troops and will contribute to the Coalition of the Willing in other ways.

The British units, and the number of personnel, has been kept under wraps but the UK has a range of military assets kept on high readiness for deployment at all times, across the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Another military source suggested that the deployment of particular units would depend on the speed of a peace deal.

A faster deal could see the deployment of 16 Air Assault Brigade, home to the British Army’s Global Response Force which is held at “very high readiness” to respond to crises worldwide.

Based in Colchester, Essex, it participated in the evacuation of Kabul in August 2022 and of Sudan in April 2023.

But if the MoD has time, it is likely to try and put other units on standby to keep 16 Brigade for emergencies, the insider suggested.

Significant steps towards peace deal over Christmas

One Western official hinted that the coming fortnight could yield a diplomatic breakthrough, while another defence insider said that it “definitely feels like this could accelerate over Christmas”.

Following crunch talks in Berlin, US officials said on Monday that they had resolved “90 per cent” of the sticking points between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the US-brokered proposal could be soon finalised and presented to the Kremlin by American negotiators.

But territory remains the key source of dispute.

Zelensky said that Russia is still laying claim to the entire Donbas region – an area of eastern Ukraine made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which is largely but not totally occupied by Russia and which Ukraine is not willing to give up.

“The Americans want to find a compromise, [and] they offer a ‘free economic zone’ [in the Donbas]. And I will emphasise once again: ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the leadership of the Russian Federation,” he said.

Zelensky said this week that Kyiv supported the idea of a Christmas ceasefire, in particular for strikes on energy infrastructure, but the Kremlin has said this will only take place if a peace deal is agreed.

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