LABOUR Prime Minister Starmer announced in the House of Commons yesterday that British Army soldiers are to be mobilised to the Ukraine.
Starmer said they are to be sent to conduct ‘deterrence operations’ against Russia to protect the new military ‘hubs’ which are to be set up there.
Starmer did not specify whether a vote would take place in the House of Commons before they are sent, but his press secretary later told reporters that Parliament would have a say ahead of any ‘long-term deployment’ of UK forces.
In 2013, MPs voted against possible UK military action against Syria, with David Cameron becoming the first British leader to lose a vote on military action since the late 18th Century.
However, former PM Theresa May took action in Syria in 2018 without consulting MPs, whilst more recently Rishi Sunak and Starmer authorised RAF air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen without doing so.
On Tuesday, the UK and France signed a ‘declaration of intent’ on deploying troops in Ukraine in the air, on land and at sea after a summit in Paris.
The statement added that Ukraine would authorise the UK, France and other allies to use ‘necessary means, including the use of force’ within its territory.
They also agreed ‘security guarantees’ for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a ‘truce’ and deciding on when it had been breached.
Tuesday’s agreement came after nine months of planning talks by a group of countries, dubbed the ‘Coalition of the Willing’, over security guarantees to be offered to Ukraine in the event of a deal, alongside separate talks over ending the war itself.
Starmer said a deal to end the war ‘will not happen’ without such guarantees.
