British troops could be sent to Ukraine if Trump withdraws aid | Politics | News

Boris Johnson has warned that British troops could be ordered to defend Ukraine if US President-elect Donald Trump abandons the war-torn country.

The former prime minister warned that a Russian victory would bring an even greater threat to our borders.

He also pointed out that Mr Trump had given kyiv Javelin shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, which played a crucial role in repelling Russian forces as they approached the Ukrainian capital.

But in an interview with GB News, Mr Johnson warned: if Ukraine collapses, then we will face an even greater threat on our borders, on the borders of the European continent wherever democracies collide with Russia.

These will therefore be the Baltic countries. It will be in Georgia. You will see the impact of a Ukrainian defeat in the Pacific theater. You will see it in the South China Sea.

What I'm saying is for people who look at us and ask why are we supporting Ukrainians?

That's because otherwise our collective security will be really degraded by a resurgent Russia threatening all sorts of parts of Europe, and we will then have to pay to send British troops to help defend Ukraine.

Mr. Johnson said Mr. Trump had many different voices in his ears on Ukraine.

There are members of the Republican Party, quite a few in fact, who take a bad line on Ukraine and who are, frankly, a little fascinated by Vladimir Putin and who have sort of a weird fanboy thing. about Putin, he said. .

You know, taking off his shirt. And it's scary, it's crazy, it's wrong. He listens to some of these people, he hears all of this.

On the other hand, this is the same Trump who made a huge difference in the fate of Ukraine by authorizing the supply of the Javelin shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons.

If Trump had not done so, the battle for kyiv could have been very, very different.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly included two proposals specifically aimed at Mr. Trump in his victory plan.

American troops stationed in Europe could be replaced by Ukrainian forces after the war.

And Ukraine's critical resources could be shared with Western partners, according to sources close to the project.

Ukrainian industries dependent on Chinese technology and materials, such as telecommunications, could, according to the person involved, turn to American suppliers and attract more Western investment.

Removing Beijing's influence would be hugely positive for Mr. Trump.

kyiv and its allies fear the United States will end its military support for Ukraine after the Republican takes power in January, the officials said.

Ukraine and its allies fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin, buoyed by Moscow's advantage on the battlefield, could conclude difficult negotiations and pressure the United States to accept a peace deal ending the war in favorable conditions in Moscow.

The first one to blink loses the game, said one person involved in pitching Ukraine to Trump. Putin believes that he is currently on the right track and can achieve whatever he wants.

President Zelensky said the ongoing military incursion into Russia's Kursk region is now holding 50,000 Russian troops.

In his daily address to the nation, Mr. Zelensky said the operation reduced Moscow's ability to attack inside Ukraine itself. The president has long cited this as the goal of the offensive, despite skepticism from some Western allies.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. nonprofit organization, Russia had 11,000 troops in Kursk when Ukraine began its shock incursion in early August.

However, an external New York Times report suggests that Moscow managed to reinforce its troops in Kursk without the need to withdraw its soldiers from Ukraine.