Every now and then, a national leader will not only make a major miscalculation but will also blurt it out in front of the world's media. On Friday, Ukraine's President Zelensky made just such a miscalculation by presuming to lecture President Trump and Vice President Vance while in the White House, and the fallout from that is still landing on the Ukrainian leader's track-suited shoulders.
Now British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is stepping into the same mess, proclaiming that the United Kingdom would not only pledge billions in support for Ukraine but would also put British boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Keir Starmer has said he is ready to put British “boots on the ground” to maintain the peace if a deal is done to end the war in Ukraine.
The prime minister said he was working with French president Emmanuel Macron to come up with a plan to present to Donald Trump aimed at finally ending the three-year-long conflict.
He was speaking after hosting an emergency summit of world leaders at Lancaster House in London at which he also set out his plan to build a “coalition of the willing” to deter Russia from attacking its neighbour again.
Coalition of the willing? Where have we heard that before? Has the British PM thought this through?
BREAKING: 🚨 Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces intention to put UK "boots on the ground and planes in the air" to protect a peace deal in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/iQgZEJO7qh
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) March 2, 2025
Now, there's a condition: British "troops on the ground and planes in the air," as the PM points out, would be after a peace deal.
But wait! There's more!
Starmer said Europe was “doubling down in our support” of Ukraine as he announced that Britain would donate a further £1.6 billion in export finance to the country so it can by 5,000 air defence missiles to be made in Belfast.
The PM said: “We are at a crossroads in history. This is not a moment for more talk, it is time to act, time to step up and lead and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.”
Declaring that any peace deal “must be backed by strength”, Starmer said: “We will go further to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace.
On Sunday, PM Starmer also announced a 2.2 million pound loan to Ukraine - a loan that's interesting, as the Biden administration just forked over cash with no notion of repayment - and announced another 1.6 quid to be used by Ukraine to buy missiles manufactured in Northern Ireland. These missiles would be, presumably, shot at Russian forces.
See Related: BREAKING: ‘I Want Peace, Not Endless War’: Trump Slams Door on More Talks With Zelensky
WATCH: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Weighs In on Zelensky's Miscalculation of Trump
Have PM Starmer and President Macron, who apparently is in on this, considered what might happen if things go sideways? What if British or French troops are shot at, even inadvertently, by Russian forces? What if a few young British or French troops were injured or killed? What then? Would the UK and France invoke NATO Article Five? Would they expect all of NATO, including the United States, to suddenly pile on Russia? Russia, we might note, has a primary ally - what, in this instance, might China do?
This right here is a recipe for a world war.
On the one hand, it's good to see Europe stepping up to fix its own problems. The United States is not Santa Claus, nor are we a weapons cornucopia. It's in the world's interest, granted, to have peace between Russia and Ukraine, but how we go about that could and probably will have far-reaching consequences.
PM Starmer really needs to rethink this whole idea.
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