Western military chiefs set to meet to discuss ‘operational phase’ of Ukraine peace deal
Military chiefs from around the world will meet next week to discuss the “operational phase” of protecting Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
The prime minister hosted a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on Saturday, which involved leaders of 26 nations, including Ukraine, plus the EU and NATO, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking after the 90-minute meeting, Sir Keir revealed military chiefs from the group of Western nations would meet on Thursday as they move “into an operational phase”.
He said they would draw up plans to help secure Ukraine “on the land, at sea and in the sky” if a peace deal can be agreed with Russia.
Ukraine war latest: We must be prepared to defend peace deal
The day before, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted a proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire as Russia agreed to an end to fighting, however, President Vladimir Putin said “lots of questions” remain over the proposals.
Sir Keir Starmer hosting a video conference call of the ‘coalition of the willing’. Pic: PA
Notably absent from Saturday’s call was US President Donald Trump, but Sir Keir reiterated any peace deal requires a US backstop.
He said the UK is talking to the US “on a daily basis” and there is a “collective resolve” to end the war, which has been shown by the “momentum we’re building up now” by the many allied countries being “on the same page” both politically and militarily.
He said Thursday’s meeting of military chiefs “is very much an operational planning meeting”.
The PM added the “coalition of the willing” had increased in size since leaders met for the first time just under two weeks ago at Lancaster House in London.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni was the most notable addition after reports she would “shun” the meeting because she is “not convinced” by the Anglo-French plan to send European peacekeepers to Ukraine.
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On Friday, a Russian drone attack set a civilian hospital in Zolochiv, Kharkiv region, on fire. Pic: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
PM dodges what rules of engagement would be
Answering a question from Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates on what the rules of engagement would be for troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping process, Sir Keir said the meeting will set that out.
He said he has already indicated he wants the UK “to play a leading role” in the provision of troops and air power, while other countries will have different capabilities.
But, he said a peace deal needs to be achieved first, which requires more pressure on Russia.
“If there’s going to be lasting peace, there’s going to have to be security arrangements,” the PM said, noting that Putin has previously broken a peace deal with Ukraine.
‘World needs action, not a study’
Sir Keir also said on the call that the gathering of leaders rejected Mr Putin’s “yes, but” approach, in reference to the Russian president saying he would agree to a ceasefire but there must be a “study” into how that would look.
The prime minister said: “The world needs action, not a study, not empty words and conditions. So my message is very clear. Sooner or later, Putin will have to come to the table.
“So this is the moment that the guns fall silent, that the barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all stop and agree to a ceasefire now.”
The PM revealed seizing Russian assets was discussed in the meeting but said it was “a complicated question”.
Despite striking US absence, progress was made
While Sir Keir Starmer’s coalition of willing world leaders weren’t standing literally shoulder to shoulder at this morning’s meeting, their united presence still sent a powerful message of support to the Ukrainians after another tumultuous week.
It was clearly important to make a united statement of conviction that the Ukrainians are the “party of peace”, willing to sign up to a ceasefire without conditions, and the Russians, therefore the de facto party of war, delaying a ceasefire and continuing with their “barbaric attacks”.
But what of the “concrete commitments” Sir Keir said he wanted to secure from the meeting?
While the PM said new commitments had been made, he gave no specific details beyond insisting the coalition would be moving into an “operational military planning” phase, with a meeting of military leaders to be held in the UK.
He had no detailed answer to Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates’ question about what power any troops deployed as part of the coalition of the willing would actually have to police any deal, arguing he was willing for UK forces to play a leading role but that operational capabilities will be discussed on Thursday.
Today’s messages were directed at both Russia and the US. Starmer insisted Russia would be forced to the table sooner or later – by the increased military support given to the Ukrainians and through the threat of greater economic sanctions. The long-held hope of seizing frozen Russian assets was also discussed, he said.
And as for his audience in the White House, the PM was demonstrating again that Europe and its allies have been listening to his calls to do more to shoulder the burden of defending Ukraine – and themselves.
But his argument that no peace deal can be secure and lasting without American security guarantees is unchanged. He reiterated all this needs to be done “in conjunction with the United States” and said his team are in daily talks with Washington.
For all the political power assembled online today, the absence of the US is as striking as ever. Despite that, progress continues.
Zelenskyy accuses Putin of lying to everyone
President Zelenskyy revealed he addressed the meeting and told them the path to peace “must begin unconditionally” and if Russia does not want to do that “then strong pressure must be applied until they do”.
He said the 30-day ceasefire proposal from the Americans negotiating in Saudi Arabia with the Russians has been on the table since Tuesday but accused Mr Putin of “lying to everyone” about the situation on the ground and about how a ceasefire is “supposedly too complicated”.
The Ukrainian leader pleaded with the West to “define a clear position on security guarantees” and for European nations to invest in defence so the continent has “its arsenals and the capability to produce the most advanced weapons”, and to strengthen air defence.
Mr Zelenskyy suggested another coalition of the willing meeting will be held in a week’s time.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for ‘strong pressure’ to be applied to Mr Putin until he accepts the ceasefire deal. Pic: Reuters
Who is part of the ‘coalition of the willing’?
The leaders involved in Saturday’s call were from: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa also joined.
World
‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says
A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence
The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.
The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.
According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.
Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.
At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.
The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP
Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.
This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.
Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.
World
Israeli soldiers ‘psychologically broken’ after ‘confronting the reality’ in Gaza, UN expert says
A UN expert has said some young soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces are being left “psychologically broken” after “confront[ing] the reality among the rubble” when serving in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, was responding to a Sky News interview with an Israeli solider who described arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza.
She told The World with Yalda Hakim that “many” of the young people fighting in Gaza are “haunted by what they have seen, what they have done”.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Ms Albanese said. “This is not a war, this is an assault against civilians and this is producing a fracture in many of them.
“As that soldier’s testimony reveals, especially the youngest among the soldiers have been convinced this is a form of patriotism, of defending Israel and Israeli society against this opaque but very hard felt enemy, which is Hamas.
“But the thing is that they’ve come to confront the reality among the rubble of Gaza.”
An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel. Pic: AP
Being in Gaza is “probably this is the first time the Israeli soldiers are awakening to this,” she added. “And they don’t make sense of this because their attachment to being part of the IDF, which is embedded in their national ideology, is too strong.
“This is why they are psychologically broken.”
Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said he believes the Sky News interview with the former IDF solider “reflects one part of how ugly, difficult and horrible fighting in a densely populated, urban terrain is”.
“I think [the ex-soldier] is reflecting on how difficult it is to fight in such an area and what the challenges are on the battlefield,” he said.
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Ex-IDF spokesperson: ‘No distinction between military and civilians’
‘An economy of genocide’
Ms Albanese, one of dozens of independent UN-mandated experts, also said her most recent report for the human rights council has identified “an economy of genocide” in Israel.
The system, she told Hakim, is made up of more than 60 private sector companies “that have become enmeshed in the economy of occupation […] that have Israel displace the Palestinians and replace them with settlers, settlements and infrastructure Israel runs.”
Israel has rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to defend itself after Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023.
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‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’
The companies named in Ms Albanese’s report are in, but not limited to, the financial sector, big tech and the military industry.
“These companies can be held responsible for being directed linked to, or contributing, or causing human rights impacts,” she said. “We’re not talking of human rights violations, we are talking of crimes.”
“Some of the companies have engaged in good faith, others have not,” Ms Albanese said.
Read more:
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Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The companies she has named include American technology giant Palantir, which has issued a statement to Sky News.
It said it is “not true” that Palantir “is the (or a) developer of the ‘Gospel’ – the AI-assisted targeting software allegedly used by the IDF in Gaza, and that we are involved with the ‘Lavender’ database used by the IDF for targeting cross-referencing”.
“Both capabilities are independent of and pre-ate Palantir’s announced partnership with the Israeli Defence Ministry,” the statement added.
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