Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shake hands after the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine during the 'Coalition of the Willing' summit on security guarantees for Ukraine, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Jan 6, 2026.

Keir Starmer has promised to send British troops into Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia – but what does that really mean?

The prime minister proudly revealed on Tuesday that he and the French president Emmanuel Macron had signed a written agreement with Ukraine to deploy their own soldiers to the war-torn country, in a bid to help protect it if a peace agreement is reached.

The pledge appeared to encourage the US to finally offer its own military efforts to help “deter” any future aggression against Ukraine and defend against any other attacks.

While these are all promising words, what does this mean in practice?

What did Starmer and Macron say?

The two world leaders signed a “declaration of intent” at a Coalition of the Willing meeting on Tuesday, promising to send troops in the event of a peace deal.

Starmer said it “paves the way for legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil”.

He said: “Following a ceasefire, the UK and France will establish military........

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