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Britain, NATO must avoid sending troops to Ukraine: UK minister

Friday, 25 February 2022 2:19 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 25 February 2022 3:02 PM ]

This is a file photo of British army soldiers.

The British armed forces minister has warned against sending NATO and UK troops to Ukraine, amid an ongoing conflict between Russia and Kiev, saying any deployment would cause an "existential" threat.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said on Friday that British and NATO "troops should not (and) must not play an active role in Ukraine."

"We must all be clear what the risk of miscalculation would be, and how existential that could very quickly become if people miscalculate and things escalate unnecessarily," he warned.

Britain has placed 1,000 troops on standby in eastern Europe in case of a humanitarian crisis in the area. Asked if those troops would now be deployed to Ukraine, Heappey ruled out any such deployment.

"This is a highly kinetic combat situation and the probability of NATO troops being caught up in combat with Russian armed forces is far too high and would lead to huge escalation," he said.

Heappey said the troops "that are on standby are there to support Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Poland with the expected humanitarian challenges that they will face as people make their way out of Ukraine."

Downing Street, however, had previously said that "nothing is off the table" in support of Ukraine.

Johnson: UK plans ‘major’ troop deployment in Europe as ‘clear message to Kremlin’

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Russia of “destabilizing” the situation around Ukraine, saying London is planning to offer NATO a "major" deployment of troops and military hardware in Eastern Europe.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the UK had "talked about protective equipment, helmets, body armor, as well as some of the defensive lethal aid that we've provided in terms of anti-tank weaponry." The spokesman said he could not go into detail of the support being provided.

Johnson also said in a statement last month that London would likely double the number of the approximately 1,150 UK troops currently in Eastern European countries and the amount of "defensive weapons" sent to Estonia.