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British and other European troops could be deployed to Ukrainian cities, ports and nuclear power plants to help secure the peace following any ceasefire deal with Russia, Western officials have said.

Protecting Ukraine’s skies and coastline will also be key.

The officials declined to give numbers on the size of any potential force but signalled it would be under 30,000 personnel.

Sir Keir Starmer is due to meet with Donald Trump in the US in the coming days. It is unclear whether the European troop plan will be discussed.

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Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin: Who said what?

Soldiers would not be posted close to frontline areas in the east and they would not be operating as “peacekeepers”.

Instead, the officials indicated that they would be a “reassurance” force for the public and to help encourage the return of millions of Ukrainians who fled the country because of Russia’s war.

This – should any such deployment be agreed – could include troops being located in major cities, ports and at sites of critical national infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants.

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Satellites, spy planes and drones could also help in the effort.

Fleshing out details of ideas that are being discussed among European allies, led by the UK and France, it is understood that there could also be a kind of air policing-style mission, using fast jets based outside Ukraine, to assist with reopening Ukrainian airspace to civilian passenger planes once again.

An RAF Typhoon jet takes off on a training exercise at Amari Airbase in Estonia. Here a squadron of RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets are deployed for Operation Azotize, Nato's Baltic air policing mission to police the airspace over Nato's eastern border. Picture date: Wednesday July 26, 2023.
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RAF Typhoons could be used to help open up Ukrainian airspace. Pic: PA

No civilian flights have been possible since the start of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war.

The UK and other NATO countries already perform this task in the Baltic states and Romania, patrolling the airspace to deter threats.

In addition, deploying warships to the Black Sea is a possibility, with the need for demining efforts as well as patrols to aid the resumption of maritime traffic off the Ukrainian coast.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has already said the Royal Navy would be a good partner to help secure Ukraine’s shipping lanes along with its Nordic allies.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Pic: AP/Tetiana Dzhafarova
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Pic: AP/Tetiana Dzhafarova

However, any kind of European-led reassurance mission would only work if there is what Sir Keir has described as a US “backstop”.

He has not elaborated on what that means but it is thought US involvement is vital to deliver the deterrent effect to ensure that Russia would not try to re-attack Ukraine for fear of triggering a US response.

This backstop could involve American military aircraft based outside Ukraine.

Donald Trump has not said whether he would support any such operation, while his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has categorically ruled out any American troops being sent to Ukraine.

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For its part, Russia has said the deployment of any European or NATO forces in Ukraine would be “unacceptable”.

Ukraine’s president has previously said any international security force would have to be about 110,000-strong.

But the Washington Post reported that discussions among European allies envisaged a contingent of between 25,000 and 30,000 personnel.

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Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy said his country would need security guarantees provided by its NATO partners.

Or it would need financing and weapons to build its own one-million-strong army, backed by a comprehensive air defence system”.

He was referring to the US Patriot system, saying if Washington would not give Kyiv any more of these, perhaps it would be possible to buy them or receive a licence to build them in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is in a situation where we do not have many security guarantee options available,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “Creating something entirely new, something global, is unrealistic. We need security guarantees this year because we want to end the war this year.”

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

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He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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