Nigel Farage rejects UK plan to send troops to postwar Ukraine

LONDON — Nigel Farage said Wednesday that he rejects Britain’s plans to put U.K. troops on the ground in a postwar Ukraine.

The leader of Reform UK, who opinion polls put on track to succeed Keir Starmer in 2029, accused the Labour prime minister of pledging “a modern day British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) without the facilities to do it.”

Farage, a populist right-winger, was referring to British forces that maintained a presence in Germany long after World War II, finally ceasing to exist under the BAOR name in 1994.

He spoke at a press conference after the U.K. and France signed a declaration of intent to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

Asked if the U.K. was right to commit troops to Ukraine, Farage replied: “Boots on the ground with kit — what boots? What kit? 

“We might be able to go for six or eight weeks, but if you’re talking about a modern-day reincarnation of the British Army of the Rhine, forget it. We are in no position to do it.” 

Farage said that while he was “not a pacifist,” he could not support the plan without a clearer exit strategy, higher defense spending and more European allies contributing troops.

Asked by POLITICO if there are any circumstances in which he’d support putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, the Reform leader replied: “Would I be prepared to be part of an international peacekeeping force? Yes. 

“But our own engagement with it would be time-restricted and on rotation — then you might think seriously about saying yes. In these circumstances, no, I don’t believe this has been properly thought through.” 

He added: “If lots and lots of countries were involved, great, but the Germans aren’t going to send anybody. Giorgia Meloni was having a cigarette outside, and the Americans are saying, ‘Jolly good chaps, off you go.’”

Starmer said later on Wednesday that the U.K. parliament would vote on any deployment before it takes place, and promised a statement with further details in the near future.

The prime minister also said he would continue appealing to other allies.

Farage has significantly toughened his language against the Kremlin in recent months. | Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Farage has significantly toughened his language against the Kremlin in recent months after the ruling Labour Party accused him of being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He called Putin “a very bad dude” in an October interview with Bloomberg.

However, Farage has repeatedly voiced doubts about the idea of sending British troops to Kyiv. In 2023 he criticized plans for British troops to train Ukrainian counterparts, posting on X: “We should not be deploying British troops to Ukraine.”