“We are very clear that we stand ready and continue to support the Ukrainians with training particularly, but there has been a long-standing position that we are not committing U.K. troops to the theater of action,” Britain’s top diplomat said.
“That is certainly the U.K. position, and remains the U.K. position at this time.”
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the BBC this weekend that he could not rule out sending troops to fight in Ukraine if necessary, reiterating previous comments by French President Emmanuel Macron made earlier this year. “We do not discard any option,” he said.
Macron stood firm in the face of a barrage of criticism back in February when he refused to rule out sending French troops into Ukraine. But he was given short shrift by opposition parties and other NATO members, including the U.S., U.K. and Germany, at the time.
No. 10 Downing Street on Monday downplayed the idea once again, with Starmer’s spokesperson telling reporters when pressed on the Le Monde article Monday: “[There are] no plans for troops in that manner.”
Asked if the U.K. could rule out sending troops to Ukraine, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “Yes, beyond what I’ve said previously about providing medical training and the military presence we have around the embassy we don’t have plans for U.K. troops to be in combat alongside Ukrainian troops.”