Britain is preparing to deploy troops, aircraft, and ships to Ukraine if President Donald Trump secures a ceasefire agreement, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said on December 11, outlining readiness plans developed by a 30-nation coalition over the past six months.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss AUKUS, the Australia-UK-US nuclear submarine partnership, Healey said Britain is ready to “do the heavy lifting in Europe” following any Trump-brokered peace deal.

“We are ready to step in behind the president in his push for peace,” Healey said. “If he can get a ceasefire agreement, we are ready to do the heavy lifting in Europe.”

Coalition planning and reconnaissance

Healey revealed that over 200 military planners from more than 30 nations have been working together for the past six months to prepare deployment plans.

“We’ve got 200 military planners, over 30 nations working together. We’ve [made] reconnaissance visits to Ukraine,” Healey said. “We have the troops ready, we have the planes available. We have the ships on standby to be able to deploy.”

The UK has already conducted reconnaissance visits to Ukraine as part of advance planning for potential deployment, Healey confirmed.

The multinational force is part of the “Coalition of the Willing,” an alliance founded in March 2025 by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to guarantee Ukraine’s security. The UK government expects to spend “well over” £100 million on the possible deployment.

European alternative to US plan

Healey’s comments came as European leaders work to shape peace negotiations. Leaders from Germany, Britain, and France recently met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to craft an alternative to a US-brokered proposal that Zelenskyy viewed as too deferential to Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron proposed to Trump that they finalize the peace proposal with US officials over the weekend.

Zelenskyy was scheduled to hold urgent talks on December 11 with leaders and officials from approximately 30 countries in the Coalition of the Willing.

Security guarantees debate

Key questions remain about what security guarantees the West would offer Ukraine under any peace agreement.

The initial US-brokered proposal stipulated that Western troops and jets would remain outside Ukraine in NATO territory. However, Western officials have been debating whether any agreement would require a multinational force to monitor front lines or secure key infrastructure inside Ukraine once a ceasefire takes hold.

Healey suggested Britain is preparing for the possibility of an international presence on the ground in Ukraine if the terms of a deal allow it. The UK and its coalition partners have already positioned troops, aircraft, and ships that could deploy if a peace agreement permits an international peacekeeping presence.

Trump administration position

President Trump has said Ukraine “has to be realistic” about a peace plan that would include ceding territory to Russia, a prospect Zelenskyy has insisted is unacceptable.

The White House recently released a national security strategy that took an unusually severe tone toward Europe, warning of political decline and calling for the US to “cultivate resistance” within European nations. The document calls for Europe to “take primary responsibility for its own defense.”

Healey brushed off questions about whether the strategy had sown division within the transatlantic alliance, emphasizing that the UK is prepared to meet increased defense responsibilities.

Timeline and readiness

When asked if troops could deploy within two weeks if a ceasefire was reached, Healey stated: “If President Trump can broker a peace, then we will be ready to help secure that peace.”

The defense secretary emphasized that Ukrainians must be the “people who will decide how and what” is negotiated in any peace talks, while Britain stands ready to enforce any agreement reached.

The deployment preparations represent one of the most significant potential commitments of European forces to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.