UK troops could be deployed to Ukraine to train forces there as the defence secretary pushes for Britain “to help them motivate and mobilise more recruits”.
John Healey told The Times, on a visit to Ukraineon Wednesday, that the UK needed to “make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need”.
On Thursday, Britain said it would send an additional £225m of military equipment to Ukraine to help it in the war against Russia.
Mr Healey said the UK has a five-point plan for boosting its support including training, weapons and money.
“The UK will step up our international leadership on Ukraine throughout 2025,” he said in a statement.
“We will enhance our offer of training to Ukraine and provide battle-winning capabilities,” he added.
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Image: During talks in Kyiv, John Healey presented a five-point plan for the UK to boost support in Ukraine. Pic: PA
The new funding includes £92m to bolster Ukraine’s navy, including small boats and drones along with £68m for air defence equipment including radars, decoy land equipment, and counter-drone warfare systems.
British forces have trained over 51,000 Ukrainian recruits in the UK since the start of the full-scale invasion, but the latest comments suggest a potential change in policy.
In November, the Foreign Secretary David Lammy insisted: “We are not committing UK troops on the ground to Ukraine” although on Wednesday he was less definitive when challenged by Sky News about the UK’s position.
Image: Defence Secretary John Healey visited Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov. Pic: PA
But when asked on Wednesday how Britain would respond if Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested British troops be sent to Ukraine, he did not reject the idea.
“It is strength that Vladimir Putin will respond to… The truth is Putin is not a man you can negotiate with,” Mr Lammy told Sky News yesterday.
The speculation coincides with European leaders holding discussions in Brussels about the security position in Ukraine, after the war.
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Mr Zelenskyy held fresh discussions with Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday about the French president’s proposal to deploy troops in Ukraine as a means to achieve a stable peace.
“We share a common vision: reliable guarantees are essential for a peace that can truly be achieved,” the Ukrainian President wrote in a post on X.
Mr Zelenskyy told reporters that talks in Brussels – including with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte – were “a very good opportunity to speak about security guarantees for Ukraine for today and for tomorrow”.
In a separate interview, he also admitted Ukraine cannot remove Russian troops from the land they occupy in the east of the country and Crimea.
He gave similar remarks to Sky News, when he suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck under certain conditions.
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.
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.
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.
Image: 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, Indianand Israelirepresentatives 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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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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6:50
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.”
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.
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”.
Image: 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.
Image: 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.