UK army ‘so run down’ it could not lead Ukraine peace force, says former chief

The UK navy is “so run down” it couldn’t lead a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the previous head of the military has stated.

Lord Dannatt advised the BBC that as much as 40,000 UK troops can be wanted for such a mission and “we simply have not received that quantity out there”.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer stated the UK would “play its half” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s safety after the prime minister was requested this week if he was open to sending British troops as peacekeepers.

A former Nato chief advised the BBC that Britain and France ought to lead a pressure of as much as 100,000 troops as a part of a long-term peacekeeping effort ought to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine finish.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week introduced he had had a prolonged dialog together with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and that negotiations to cease the “ridiculous war” in Ukraine would start “instantly”.

Trump then “knowledgeable” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, of his plan.

Lord Dannatt – who was head of the Military from 2006 to 2009 – agreed {that a} pressure to maintain the peace would require about 100,000 troops.

Nevertheless he stated the UK must provide “fairly a proportion of that and we actually could not do it”.

“Our navy is so run down at this time second, numerically and so far as functionality and gear is anxious, it might doubtlessly be fairly embarrassing,” he advised BBC Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster.

“I imply, if we have been to deploy 10,000 troops, every rotation for six months, that may successfully tie up 30,000 or 40,000 troops and we simply have not received that quantity out there.

“So there are some large points right here that at present’s politicians will not actually have thought of.”

It comes as Britain’s overseas and defence secretaries referred to as on the UK and Europe to “do extra” to “share the burden” of regional safety in a joint article for the Each day Telegraph on Saturday.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was Nato secretary-general from 2009 to 2014, stated “a lot of European nations must step as much as the plate” for any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, including that the UK and France ought to lead that coalition by placing boots on the bottom.

“I might let navy specialists decide [the number] however my guess can be between 50,000 and 100,000 troops,” he advised BBC Newsnight.

As of October 2024, there have been 74,612 members of the UK’s common Military forces (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers), in line with the newest Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures.

The Military has targets on what number of new recruits under the rank of officer it ought to tackle yearly, set out by the MoD. These targets have been missed in virtually each single monetary 12 months since 2010-11, in line with a written reply to Parliament final January.

Lord Dannatt stated the Labour authorities would wish to “have a look at their priorities”, including: “Sure, well being, schooling, roads, infrastructure are essential, however truly defence and the safety of this nation are extra essential.”

The crossbench peer stated he believes the UK authorities must go additional than its dedication of accelerating defence spending to 2.5% of GDP – a pledge that they’ve but to place a timeline on when will probably be delivered.

Zelensky has beforehand requested for the UK and different European allies together with France to ship troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping operation after the conflict.

Sir Keir final month signed a “landmark” 100-year pact with Ukraine, constructing on the £12.8bn the UK hass already despatched to the nation, with additional commitments of £3bn yearly for “so long as it takes”.

The UK can even proceed to coach Ukrainian troops, 50,000 of whom have been skilled on British soil up to now.

David Lammy, the British overseas secretary, stated he was “very encouraged” by his talks on Ukraine with US Vice-President JD Vance on Friday, on the primary day of the Munich Safety Convention.

“We share the view that there must be an everlasting peace,” Lammy advised Reuters information company following the assembly.

“There was an settlement that Zelensky and the Ukrainians should be a part of that negotiated deal.”

Nevertheless, Lammy and his defence colleague John Healey stated that Putin had for 20 years sought “to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the nations round its borders”.

“Too typically previously, the West has let him,” they stated within the Each day Telegraph.

“We did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.”

In response to Lord Dannatt’s feedback, an MoD spokesperson stated Britain’s armed forces have been “revered worldwide for his or her professionalism and excellence”.

“Proper now, the Ukrainians are nonetheless combating with large braveness. Our authorities is stepping up assist for Ukraine’s conflict fighters to place them in the very best place for any talks.

The spokesperson cited a £150m “firepower bundle” introduced this week “offering extra drones, tanks and air defence programs”.