London 'Highly Unlikely' to Deploy Troops in Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary Says

LONDON (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom is "highly unlikely" to send troops to Ukraine in the event of Russia starting implementing its alleged plans for escalation of the situation around Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

"It’s a fact it’s [Ukraine] not a member of Nato, so it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to send troops into Ukraine to challenge Russia… We shouldn’t kid people on that we would," Wallace said, as quoted by The Spectator magazine.

The defence secretary added that the Ukrainian people "are aware of that."

In early December, US President Joe Biden said that neither the US, nor NATO has commitments to defend Ukraine in the event of the escalation. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that as long as Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, it does not have the same security guarantees as NATO countries.

Russia has repeatedly refuted allegations of Western countries and Ukraine of "aggressive actions," saying that it has no intention to threaten or invade any nation. However, Kiev and some Western countries have recently expressed concern about allegedly stepped up "aggressive actions" of Russia near the Ukrainian border. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia moves its troops within its territory and at its discretion.