The British shrunken army would be swallowed almost completely if the Donald Trump's reported Ukrainian 'peace plan' deal had to enforce a defense leader.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said that tens of thousands of British soldiers could be sucked to spear a peace force to supervise a demilitarized zone that takes an 800-mile overflow of the Ukrainian country seized by Russia.
It comes after an unconfirmed 'leaked report' claimed that President Trump's plan for a cessation -the fires was unveiled by Easter, making a further advance to Kyiv freezing by the troops of the Russian Tiran Vladimir Putin.
To monitor the peace pact, a brigade of 10,000 British soldiers would be needed, Col de Bretton-Gordon said, in addition to potentially two other comparable units that could rotate and use every six months.
But the former commander of the Nuclear Defense Force of Groot -Britain feared that such a huge dedication would deliver a large part of the army, which also confronted the Royal Navy and Raf – which are also confronted with their own manpower issues – for the coast of Groot -Britain.
And he was worried that the UK is so short of tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters, that the army should rely on NATO fellow people such as Sweden, Denmark, France and Germany to do the heavy work on the ground.
“This would be a complete commitment to the British army,” warned the retired tank commander. 'This would swallow the whole force on this scale.
“We could probably do a brigade at the same time. But one British brigade would not be enough to beat that limit. This is a division corps at the level – Ballpark, that is 50,000 to 60,000 peace groups. '
British troops that control Jackal Combat vehicles, descended from M3 amphibian rigs from the German/British amphibious engineer Battalion 130 after crossing the Vistula River during NATO Dragon 24 Military Exercise on March 4, 2024
A soldier of the 2nd battalion Royal Anglian Infantry Unit storms an enemy position in a simulated attack on NATO 'Brilliant jump' military exercise on February 26, 2024 in Poland
The Afghanistan veteran said it would be 'essential' to have NATO bondmen who support the mission, and added: 'We simply do not have the tanks, armored vehicles and attack helicopters needed to such a large area cover.'
Under the alleged leaked Trump peace plan, shared on a pro-Russian site, a cease-fire would be agreed on April 20.
The proposal also claims that there would be a ban on Ukraine to become a member of NATO, and a requirement from Kiev to accept the Russian sovereignty on the attached country.
British defense sources have told the MailOnline that it is cease -the proposal is 'purely speculative'.
The 'plans' – which have not been confirmed by the Washington – have left Ukrainians horribly and fear that Kyiv may have to return caves and unfavorable conditions to end the war, which will hit his third birthday on 24 February.
In the meantime, today's reports suggest that President Trump is preparing to double sanctions against Russia to put Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine to an end.
The current sanctions against the Russian Prime Minister are 'only about three' on a scale of one in 10 of how serious they can be, according to the special envoy of the president about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Keith Kellogg.
'The pressure simply cannot be military. You have to exert economic pressure, you have to exert diplomatic pressure, “he told the New York Post. “And if there is anyone who understands leverage, President Donald J. Trump is.”
An administrative building is damaged after the Russian rocket attack on February 5, 2025 in Izium, Ukraine
An explosion of a drone is seen in the air over the city during a Russian drone strike, amidst Russia attack on Ukraine, in Kiev, Ukraine on February 5, 2025
Combat Medici of the 14th Assault Brigade Chervona Kalyna of the Ukrainian National Guard treat an injured Ukrainian soldier in a medical stabilization point, amid Russian attack on Ukraine, nearby
US President Donald Trump (depicted on February 6 in Washington, the US) is said to try to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zensky with a ceasefire -the Fire with Russia through Easter through Easter
Nevertheless, however, there is ensure that America would use none of its powers to help with the peace mission.
The British army is now in its smallest size in more than 230 years, with Minister of Defense Jon Healey recently warned that soon since 1793 it would soon be among 70,000 soldiers.
So exhausted, the military manpower of the UK, former British commanders have said that the nation would have difficulty playing the thousands of troops needed to retain peace.
General Lord Richard Dannatt, last month told the i -paper: 'I don't think the size of our army is big enough to do that with everything else that it is currently doing. I think we would struggle it.
'We could do it, but then we should certainly put more resources in the army and grow the size of the army.
'It is a major problem that is directly related to the future size of the British army. You start to hit troops fairly quickly. '
Col de Brettton-Gordon added that Great Britain could still play an important role in the peace efforts, which acts as a 'framework' force, which led a tactical and operational command head office.
“British troops are ideal for this, it is what they are trained for: hearts and spirits, the peace enforcement of things and then being able to quickly maintain things when needed,” he told MailOnline.
British troops are seen as rehearsing cold weather exercises during a bet to Norway
Royal Marines visit gas masks while working on responding to chemical, organic, radiological and nuclear attacks during the Steadfast Defender exercise of NATO in 2024
'But if the government wants to use its army, it must set it correctly and spend the right money. Apart from one battle group in Estonia, there is not much else that is ready and trained.
“If starmer wants to wave the military card, he has to pay for it.”
Col de Bretton-Gordon also claimed that it would be unlikely that Washington would put American boots on the ground.
“The US will not be involved. Trump has said: “Europe is your problem”. So the assumption is that the US would not get involved.
'But if the S *** touches the fan, the Americans can come and charge over the hill, but I get the feeling that what Trump has told us is: “I will squeeze Putin's cajones firmly, but you have to go on the boots on the put soil “. '
Sir Keir Starmer has previously spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron about the prospect of a Franco-British joint peace enforcement in Ukraine as soon as the war is over, to prevent a new attack by Russia.
Last month the prime minister said: “We are not only with you, not only today or tomorrow, for this year or the next, but for 100 years after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is again and blooms again.”
Asked if he was ready to send the British troops to Ukraine, the prime minister said: 'I don't want to lead ourselves, but I have indicated that we will play our full part. Because this is not only about sovereignty in Ukraine.
'The point is what the impact is in the United Kingdom and our values, our freedom, our democracy. Because if Russia succeeds this aggression, this will influence us all for a very long time. '
The Ministry of Defense refused to comment.
