Exclusive: Jeremy Hunt backs UK troops on Ukraine border, labelling it the 'only way' to secure ‘sustainable peace’

3 January 2025, 14:24 | Updated: 3 January 2025, 14:55

Jeremy Hunt believes British troops may be needed in a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine

British troops should be deployed to Ukraine to defend its borders if a negotiated peace deal with Russia is reached, former chancellor and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

Speaking as LBC's guest presenter on Friday, Mr Hunt said he would back this solution as the "only way" of achieving "sustainable peace" between Russia and Ukraine.

He added that US president-elect Donald Trump would be unlikely do the same with American troops given his continued reluctance to arm Ukraine.

"There is no way that Trump is going to send American troops to do that. I would suggest, in which case, the way to make that security guarantee for Ukraine credible will be for Britain, France, Germany and other European countries to send troops to secure that border," he told listeners.

"Is that something that we would be prepared to do? I think after a lot of thought, I would be prepared to do that."

It comes speculation of a peace deal being reached in 2025 continues to mount.

Read more: Trump’s ‘unpredictability’ could help end Ukraine war with Russia, says Zelensky

Read more: Ukraine halts transit of Russian gas to Europe after pre-war deal expires

Caller passionately disagrees with the idea of UK troops being sent to Ukraine

Mr Hunt said: "Donald Trump has made it very clear that he is not prepared to continue indefinite support for Ukraine. He is going to force ramrod a peace through in Ukraine.

"And the question is going to be whether that will be seen as a victory for Putin, what that will mean for Ukraine's sovereignty and independence."

One of the questions Britain and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will need to confront, he argued, is whether we would be willing to have British troops on the ground in the face of a peace deal.

Mr Hunt suggested that a potential peace agreement could end up looking similar to North Korea and South Korea, where a demilitarized zone is in place between the two countries.

In Ukraine, we could see something "fairly similar to the current de facto boundaries, with Russia keeping control of the 20% of Ukraine that it now has control of" if there is a deal to end the war on that basis.

That means "Ukraine's security will have to be guaranteed" with the help of foreign allies, Mr Hunt argued.

He said: "There is no way that Trump is going to send American troops to do that. I would suggest, in which case, the way to make that security guarantee for Ukraine credible will be for Britain, France, Germany and other European countries to send troops to secure that border.

"Is that something that we would be prepared to do? I think after a lot of thought, I would be prepared to do that."

The Ministry of Defence has previously announced that it has been considering the possibility of sending British troops to Ukraine to help train its armed forces.

There are already British troops serving on Russia’s border, whom Starmer visited last month to the Joint Expeditionary Force conference in Estonia.

He pledged to provide Ukraine with "all the capability that it can get, so I think all of us have put in more capability into Ukraine by way of equipment.”

The UK has been training Ukrainian troops in the UK since 2022, with a small team of British Army medics already providing training inside Ukraine.

Last month, Sir Keir and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on the "importance of refining" the UK's training of Ukrainian forces to "bolster" the country's defence.

Sir Keir said that Western allies were "united in their determination to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into 2025".