OPINION
Keir Starmer risks lives just so he can play the statesman of Europe (Image: lyas Tayfun Salc/Anadolu via Getty Images)
As a former British Army officer, I’ve seen my fair share of politicians making bold statements about military deployments. But Sir Keir Starmer’s recent pledge to commit British troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine is a move that has left many of us in the military world astonished — and not in a good way.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of Donald Trump’s shock return to the White House and his first major move on the global stage: opening backchannel talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war. But here’s the kicker — Ukraine isn’t even in the room.
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We all knew Trump was going to shake things up, and sure enough, he’s already told Europe in no uncertain terms: the days of America carrying NATO are over. If Europe wants security, we’re going to have to pay for it ourselves.
Cue panic in Paris — European leaders have scrambled to an emergency summit to try and work out what to do next. And in wades Keir Starmer, eager to play the statesman, offering up British troops for a peacekeeping mission that hasn’t even been agreed yet.
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Speak to any experienced military commander and they’ll tell you the same thing: this is madness.
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I’ve talked to senior officers, both serving and retired, and the response has been utter disbelief. Where exactly are these peacekeeping troops going to come from?
General Lord Dannatt, former head of the British Army, has already sounded the alarm, making it clear that Britain’s armed forces are simply not in a position to take this on. Years of underfunding have hollowed out our capabilities, and unless Starmer is prepared to massively boost defence spending, any such deployment would be reckless in the extreme.
And it's not just the Army that’s stretched thin — alternatives like patrolling a post-war no-fly zone or deploying the Royal Navy to the Black Sea sound good on paper, but in reality, we don’t have enough personnel or equipment to do the job properly.
What worries me most is that Starmer seems to be making big promises without a clear plan.
Military peacekeeping isn’t just about turning up in blue helmets and waving a flag. It’s about boots on the ground, logistics, supply chains, force protection, and — most importantly — clear political objectives. Right now, we have none of that.
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Meanwhile, other European nations are backing away from the idea. Germany’s Olaf Scholz has already warned that talking about peacekeeping while the war is still raging is premature, and there’s growing pressure for the UN to take the lead instead.
Starmer is jetting off to Washington next week to meet Trump, where he’ll have to either double down on his promise or backpedal under pressure. And let’s be clear — if he goes in demanding American backing, Trump will expect something in return.
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If Starmer wants Britain to play a serious role in global security, he has one option: get serious about defence spending.
Otherwise, he’s making promises he can’t keep — and putting British lives on the line for the sake of political posturing.
As someone who has worn the uniform and understands what it means to send men and women into harm’s way, I can only hope cooler heads prevail before it’s too late.