A report that Britain is considering deploying soldiers to Ukraine for five years has been described as ‘pure speculation’.
One of a number of options on the table being discussed by Western allies was said to be a European-led force dispatched to the war-torn nation to deter Russia from breaching any agreement of a ceasefire.
But a ministry of defence spokesperson criticised the report, telling Metro: ‘This is pure speculation.
‘As defence secretary John Healey said on Thursday when convening the latest meeting of the 30 countries supporting the Coalition of the Willing, we are stepping up as one to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to protect its sovereignty.
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‘We must put more pressure on Putin to end his war, and we must step up our support for Ukraine, which is why we have announced a further £450 million of military support today to deliver hundreds of thousands of drones and other urgently needed equipment.’
The claims, originally reported by The Telegraph, citing unnamed sources, said the main aim of the deployment would be to immediately start helping to train and rebuild Ukraine’s armed forces.
The force would later withdraw in stages with final troops to leave around the five year mark.
Away from deploying British and French soldiers on the ground in Ukraine European allies are focusing on military aid to help support the depleted army.
They pledged a record £18.2 billion of help as Healey warned that 2025 was ‘the critical year’ for the war.
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