The UK has begun preparing its special forces for a possible deployment to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission. The special forces are on standby and military planners have been instructed to begin mobilising resources for a potential deployment.
According to The Independent, citing military sources, last week the UK's military planning command center received a directive to prepare personnel and military equipment. At the moment, it is about ensuring combat readiness, not about the immediate dispatch of troops.
This decision is related to London's plans to form a "coalition of the willing" - a group of countries that are ready to support a peacekeeping initiative to end the fighting in Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said that the deployment of peacekeeping forces has entered the "operational phase."
Military experts say that the UK's special forces, while not a typical peacekeeping force, possess the key skills needed for such a mission. "Its ability to deploy rapidly, experience in intelligence and counterintelligence make it an ideal tool to lead a coalition," writes the British publication "I".
Dr Simon Anglim, a research fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College, said: "The British Special Forces are a world-class military asset that can be used in peacekeeping forces for intelligence gathering, VIP protection, some training and perhaps countering Russian hybrid activity."
It is expected that the coalition may include more than 30 countries, and a meeting of its representatives is scheduled for Thursday to discuss further steps.
