British News Agency

Following a surprise phone call last Thursday, the US and Russian presidents plan to meet in Budapest, Hungary. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited, but said he was prepared to attend.

Asked whether troops could be sent if an agreement is reached within the next two weeks, Healey said: “If President Trump can broker a peace, then we are ready to secure that peace.”

He added that “the Ukrainians must be the ones to decide how and what is negotiated” in any peace talks.

Healey said members of the “coalition of volunteers” — an alliance of 26 European countries set up in March by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to guarantee Ukraine’s security — “have developed detailed plans in the event of a ceasefire.”

Thanks to the work of “more than 200 military planners from over 38 countries in the last six months,” he said, the units are ready to be deployed when needed.

The Defence Secretary also warned of a “new era of threat,” saying the risk of a wider conflict in Europe has not been this great since the end of the Second World War.