Veterans Minister, Alistair Carns has said many members of the British military would “jump at the chance” to serve in any peace operations in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters on a visit to an RAF base in Lincolnshire, where he announced a new drive to increase cadets, the minister said serving personnel want to “deliver good in the world”.
Veterans Minister, Alistair Carns has said many members of the British military would “jump at the chance” to serve in any peace operations in Ukraine
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GB NEWS/ GETTY
Mr Carns said: “When you join the military, it’s like training an athlete to conduct a race, and if you never get to conduct the race, you’re probably going to be unhappy.
“The military is designed to go on operations, they like going in operations, and as long as those cadence of operations are balanced with their right to a family life, I have a feeling that a lot of people in the military will welcome the operational opportunity to do what they’re trained to do.
“I’ve continually volunteered for operation after operation after operation. I know other people will do the same, and I think that’s probably reflective of most in the British forces.
“I think they want to be part of the news rather than watch the news and I think they want to be pushing for what they morally and ethically would support, probably why they joined up, which is to deliver good in the world.
“It won’t be Britain by itself, it would be a conglomerate of different countries, which are collectively really significant, and they will bring a whole utility of capabilities that can help the Ukrainians and provide security within their country.
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“I think the British military will jump at the chance, as will anyone else who serves. That’s the reason you serve, I think.”
His comments come after he spent the day with Armed Forces cadets with the Government announcing young people will have more chances to join up under a major expansion of cadet forces across the country.
A new “30 by 30” campaign aims to boost cadet forces by 30 per cent by 2030 thanks to £70 million of new investment as part of the Strategic Defence Review.
The RAF Air Cadets will become the first military youth organisation in Britain certified to train drone pilots. Once the Civil Aviation Authority approves the training manual, the Air Cadets will be able to deliver industry-accredited drone qualifications at the higher levels.
Drones have been heavily used in combat in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022 and Mr Carns told reporters lessons must be implemented into the armed forces.
Speaking to reporters on a visit to an RAF base in Lincolnshire, where he announced a new drive to increase cadets, the minister said serving personnel want to ‘deliver good in the world’
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GB NEWS
He said: “If you look at some of the skills we see in Ukraine, for example, first person view drones flying at 100km an hour, weaving in and out of wood lines to strike targets is very, very different.
“What we’ve got to do is make sure we pick up the correct lessons from Ukraine and discard some of the false ones, and make sure those lessons are implemented and pushed into the Army, Navy and Air force.
“We’ve seen 6000 drone flights a day in some cases in Ukraine, we’ve got to make sure our army, our navy and our air force are equipped properly to do that.”
This week, President Donald Trump hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders for talks at the White House to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine.
A deal is yet to be reached but the talks were described as “constructive”. Trump said the US would support Ukraine’s security and announced it would attempt to makes plans for a face-to-face meeting between President Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin.
Today, Mr Carns told GB News any deal must have Ukraine at its heart.
He said: “It will be down to the Ukrainians to decide what they see as acceptable to come towards a deal, and that’s the principle we need coming back to.
“The Ukrainians must be the co-designers of the foundations of this deal and that will provide us the moral prerogative to move forward with a deal if the Ukrainians are happy.
“I think that’s the actual principle, whether that’s ceding territory, whether that’s drawing a line where they deem it right – that’s down to them.
“It’s moving towards peace, as long as the Ukrainians are central to that, and I think we saw in the last Trump-Zelensky meeting, the warm relationship by the two, and a complete change of the narrative, I think it’s moving in a positive direction.”