Military figures to meet as Ukraine diplomacy push continues
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to meet with defence planners.
Military figures are set to gather in the UK on Thursday as planning for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine moves into an “operational phase”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been trying to assemble a coalition of nations that would be willing to help enforce any peace deal that could be reached between Kyiv and Moscow.
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes a “lasting peace can be achieved this year” after a call with US President Donald Trump.
Sir Keir is expected to meet with defence planners after he announced at the weekend that military chiefs would gather to “put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security”.
He also signalled a move to an “operational phase” as he confirmed Thursday’s meeting.
Addressing a press conference in Downing Street on Saturday, the Prime Minister did not elaborate on which nations had made concrete commitments to a peacekeeping force, but said that what action they could take would be a subject of discussion in the meeting.
“There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide,” he said.
Diplomatic efforts on securing a ceasefire had continued on Wednesday, with the call between the US and Ukrainian leaders on Wednesday coming a day after Mr Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Zelensky said he had a “positive, very substantive and frank” conversation with Mr Trump, and said that Ukraine was “ready to implement” the ending of strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
He thanked Mr Trump for the talks in Saudi Arabia last week, and added: “We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and lasting peace.
“We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year.”
In the same call, the US president suggested that America takes ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.
Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky during their call that the US could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise”, according to a White House statement from US secretary of state Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
The US president added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure”.
Number 10 welcomed the “progress” that Mr Trump has made “towards a ceasefire deal”.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We welcome the progress President Trump has made towards a ceasefire deal, and we will continue to work with international partners on putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position.
“We now need to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire deal to see a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky is also expected to address European leaders on Thursday when he dials in to the European Council meeting via video link.
Elsewhere on Thursday, the Prime Minister is also due to visit Barrow-in-Furness after hailing the town as a “blueprint” for how increasing defence spending can boost prosperity.
He will lay the keel of the first of the Dreadnought class of submarines, a fleet of four vessels that will make up the next generation of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
