LONDON, March 20. /TASS/. The United Kingdom is developing plans for military land, sea and air operations in Ukraine to ensure compliance with the peace deal after the conflict settlement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told military planners.
"What’s happening here is turning that political intention into reality. The concept into the plans, whether that’s in relation what might happen on the sea, air or on the ground. Those plans are coming together, and I met some of the team to work through some of the details," he said.
Starmer argued that Russia could allegedly violate any future agreements, so Western countries should work on security guarantees for Ukraine. "We hope there will be a deal. But what I do know if there is a deal, the time for planning is now. It’s not after a deal is reached. I’m well aware that the deal may be in stages, and therefore there is a different optionality, different things that have to be planned, but the more planning that we do here now through you, the better," he said.
Earlier, London hosted a meeting of military commanders from the "coalition of the willing" countries to discuss operational details of sending troops to Ukraine. Following the talks, the UK did not release any statements on the decisions made.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the presence of NATO troops under any flag and in any capacity on Ukrainian soil is a threat to Russia. According to him, Moscow will not accept this under any circumstances.