BRITISH Typhoon jets could soon be deployed over Ukrainian airspace to help Brit troops stationed on the ground police a ceasefire.
The RAF fighter jets will police the skies above a wartorn Ukraine if proposals discussed by Sir Keir Starmer’s coalition of the willing go ahead.
Starmer speaking at Northwood Headquarters as he met with planners to map out the next steps in the coalition of the willing[/caption]
Typhoon jets could soon be deployed over Ukrainian airspace to help Brit troops stationed on the ground police a ceasefire[/caption]
An RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet flies during a demonstration at the Farnborough International Airshow[/caption]
Dozens of key military planners met on Thursday and spoke about sending British Typhoons to provide air cover for the brave troops on the ground, The Telegraph reports.
Sir Keir attended talks at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood along with more than 30 other nations forming the coalition of the willing.
A senior RAF source told The Telegraph, British air cover would have been discussed at the meeting because “there will be a requirement for top cover” if foreign boots are on the ground in Ukraine.
The source said: “We would never send British troops out on the ground without giving them air cover.”
The RAF would most likely do this through their force of Typhoons or even the F35s due to the pair providing “excellent air-to-air policing”.
Six Typhoons are already set to be sent to Poland for air-to-air policing measures in the coming weeks as part of the Nato Enhanced Forward Presence.
Starmer has also already pledged to put British troops on the ground to act as European peacekeepers if Donald Trump can successfully get Vladimir Putin to agree to a truce deal.
Speaking on the military plans should a ceasefire begin, Starmer said the coalition of the willing has broken it down into various different routes.
He said: “The political momentum that we’ve built up is being translated here into military planning and operational planning, and broadly broken out into different areas.
“So we’re looking at the sea in one scenario, the sky, obviously land and borders, and regeneration.”
Starmer also reiterated that the whole of Europe must act now before a wider continental conflict breaks out.
He added: “We hope there will be a deal but what I do know is if there is a deal, the time for planning is now. It’s not after a deal is reached.”
“It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
“We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.”
A number of nations have already said they would be willing to send air cover to Ukraine.
It would involve sending air cover to troops on the ground on a rotational basis between the nations, the source said.
A separate source within Downing Street stressed Starmer is yet to finalise any concrete plans or even confirmed his intentions in regards to how the RAF will provide aid.
It comes as Starmer also threw down the gauntlet to Vladimir Putin saying there would be “severe consequences” if the despot broke any peace deal.
Sir Keir’s strong comments came after a phone call on a peace deal between US President Donald Trump and Putin on Tuesday.
Trump has also had a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky suggesting America runs their power plants.
However, he warned allies that Putin will breach any peace deal “without anything behind it”.
The PM said: “Last weekend and two weekends before that, we had groupings of international political leaders coming together to provide the political alignment and the collective agreement that we need to work together to ensure that any deal that is put in place is defended.
“What’s happening here is turning that political intention into reality, the concept into plans.”
He added: “It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.”
“We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again”.
Britain has also pledged to face off with Putin with some underwater firepower.
A new behemoth submarine equipped with lethal torpedoes, nuclear missiles and stealthy rudders are being built – in preparation to face down Mad Vlad’s Russia.
The colossus HMS Dreadnought will be Britain’s largest and most complex submarine, and is set to inherit the country’s nuclear Trident missiles.
Russia has continued to pummel Ukraine with strikes this week[/caption]
