UK won't send troops to Ukraine 'no matter how situation develops', says Liz Truss

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday that it is highly unlikely that the United Kingdom will send its military contingent to Ukraine no matter how the situation develops. "As the defense secretary has already said, it is unlikely that there will be the circumstance," Truss said as NATO stationed troops in the east and the United States ordered its own troops to remain vigilant as it prepares for troop deployment in the Baltic nations and Eastern Europe.

When asked whether the UK will send combat units to defend Ukraine, Truss stated that ‘it is extremely unlikely,’ RIA Novosti reported. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated earlier that the British Royal Forces will be sent to protect NATO allies in eastern Europe in case Moscow invaded Kyiv. The UK and the alliance, he stressed, will respond in unison with "severe" economic sanctions, as he also additionally threatened Russian leader, saying: “If Russia pursues this path [of attacking Ukraine] many Russian mothers’ sons will not be coming home." 

"The British Army leads the NATO battle group in Estonia and, if Russia invades Ukraine, we would look to contribute to any new NATO deployments to protect our allies in Europe," UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said on Tuesday. 

'We’re standing shoulder to shoulder' with Kyiv: Raab 

In a separate press address, United Kingdom's deputy prime minister Dominic Raab had similarly said that Britain will support Ukraine in defending its territory with arms and other military equipment but the prospect of British Royal Army deployment in Kyiv is not on the table. “To the international community, to NATO allies in the West, we’re standing shoulder to shoulder and there will be very serious consequences if Russia takes this move to try and invade and also install a puppet regime,” Raab said. He reiterated that it is “unlikely” that the UK will dispatch its own army to fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine but “what we can say is we’re already willing and engaging in training programmes to support Ukrainians defending themselves, that’s absolutely right.”

UK’s Foreign Office this week announced that it has clear intelligence that Russia wants to install “a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine.” Intel suggests that the potential candidate to replace the current Ukrainian leader is former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev. The US, meanwhile, had imposed sanctions on at least four current and several former Ukrainian officials for colluding with Russia's intelligence service to destabilize Ukraine. Moreover, Russia refuted these claims and lambasted the UK for a “disinformation” campaign. Kremlin asked the West to put end to the “provocative activities” in the regions surrounding Russia. Moscow had earlier called reports of the Ukrainian invasion “an artificial hysteria” built by the United States.  

“The most recent disinformation circulated by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is yet another indication that it is the NATO Members led by the Anglo-Saxon nations who are building up and escalating tensions around Ukraine,” a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said.