Boris Johnson calls for British troops to defend Ukraine’s borders in peace deal

Boris Johnson has for British troops to be committed to peacekeeping duties at the Ukrainian border as part of any ceasefire deal.

The former Prime Minister told the Daily Telegraph that peace-keeping responsibilities should be handled by a multinational group of Western nations.

“I don’t think we should be sending in combat troops to take on the Russians,” he said.

“But I think as part of the solution, as part of the end state, you’re going to want to have multinational European peace-keeping forces monitoring the border [and] helping the Ukrainians.

“I cannot see that such a European operation could possibly happen without the British.”

It comes against the backdrop of US president-elect Donald Trump’s January inauguration.

The incoming leader has called on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to speed up and spoke on the campaign trail about his plans to end the war in 24 hours.

Mr Johnson said other European nations should be transparent about any security or funding guarantees offered as part of a potential peace deal.

One option he put forward was Ukraine joining Nato.

The alliance’s treaty binds all members to come to one another’s defence in the event of an attack.

“We need to be spelling out what kind of security guarantees we think are appropriate,” he said.

“The only thing that really works is a Nato Article 5 guarantee that has kept the peace in Europe for 80 years.

“It’s the reason the Baltic states are in Nato. It’s the reason that the Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Finns and the Swedes are now in Nato.”

Elsewhere, outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration urged Ukraine to lower its conscription age from 25 to 18 to help expand its pool of fighting-age men.

The former Prime Minister’s comments came less than a day after Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky as his country’s power grid faces bombardment by Russian forces.

Russia’s renewed attack on Ukraine’s power grid, the second in less than two weeks, has added to fears the Kremlin is hoping to cripple its foe’s power generation ahead of winter.

One million homes have lost power in the war-torn nation, according to Ukrainian officials.

Russia’s renewed attack on Ukraine’s power grid, the second in less than two weeks, has added to fears the Kremlin is hoping to cripple its foe’s power generation ahead of winter.

One million homes have lost power in the war-torn nation, according to Ukrainian officials.

Downing Street described the Russian strikes as “egregious”, adding that the Prime Minister characterised them as “systematic” and “depraved” when speaking to Mr Zelensky.

Amid the attacks, Mr Zelensky “expressed gratitude for the UK’s unwavering support, including the commitment to provide at least £3 billion annually for Ukraine’s needs” in his call with the Prime Minister.

In a fresh signal that British Storm Shadow missiles are likely being used by Kyiv, the Ukrainian president added: “We discussed advancing our defence cooperation and strengthening Ukraine’s long-range capabilities.”

UK authorities will not be drawn into confirming it has permitted Ukraine to use the weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

No 10 would only say that “both leaders underlined the importance of putting Ukraine in the best possible position ahead of another challenging winter of conflict”.