Europe is growing more hawkish in its rhetoric, seeing the need for a counterbalance against Trump efforts to secure lasting peace in Ukraine, which recently included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing that the US does not see future NATO membership for Ukraine as a realistic possibility. The latest shot across the bow is British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing that the UK is “ready and willing” to put British peacekeeping troops on the ground in Ukraine, and stressing it’s essential that the West backs Kyiv toward “securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty for the long term” which essential” to deter Putin from “further aggression.” There is as yet no framework for negotiated peace in place, and yet Starmer is talking boots on the ground. This was laid out in an op-ed the Telegraph newspaper published Sunday night. He sounded a similar note to other European leaders who have warned that Trump’s peace plan could cede all the immense sacrifices made defending Ukraine thus far. “We must be clear that peace cannot come at any cost,” Starmer said. “Ukraine must be at the table in these negotiations, because anything less would accept Putin’s position that Ukraine is not a real nation.” He stressed: “The end of […]