A former British Army general has urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy to visit the Royal Memorial Chapel at Sandhurst before making any decision on deploying troops to Ukraine.
Tim Cross told GB News that the two senior politicians should spend time in the chapel contemplating the serious consequences of such a mission.
The stark warning comes as Britain reportedly considers plans to deploy peacekeeping forces to Ukraine for up to five years.
Cross highlighted the chapel's significance, describing it as "a wonderful, wonderful chapel" with pillars bearing marble inscriptions of hat badges.
Tim Cross called on Starmer and Lammy to visit Academy Chapel
GB NEWS
The chapel walls list names of young Sandhurst officers killed in World War One and commemorate various military campaigns.
"Those campaigns include the Balkans, which started in about 1992 and is still going on. Then there's Iraq, Afghanistan and so on," Cross explained.
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He suggested the prime minister and foreign secretary should reflect on these memorials as reminders of long-term military commitments and their human cost.
According to a report by The Telegraph cited by Reuters, Britain is considering deploying troops to Ukraine for five years under plans being discussed by allies.
The proposal would involve a European-led force dispatched to Ukraine to deter Russia from breaching any settlement and offer Ukrainian forces respite.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Starmer said in March that a "significant number" of countries are willing to provide peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
Tim Cross joined Martin Daubney on GB News
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The UK has recently stepped up its military support for Ukraine, unveiling a £450m aid package as part of a European "surge" of assistance.
Britain will provide £350m this year, with Norway contributing additional funding, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The aid will fund repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment, radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones.
The Guardian reports that the UK has also pressed nearly 30 countries to proceed with plans to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
This support aims partly to strengthen Ukraine's position ahead of any potential peace deal with Russia.
Cross warned that military deployment to Ukraine would not be without casualties.
"I think it would be good for the prime minister and David Lammy to spend half an hour in the Academy Chapel looking at those walls, remembering that it will be a long deployment," he said.
"A lot of those guys who are deployed, some of them won't come home."
The former general emphasised the importance of proper planning for any potential mission.
"The size and shape of the force and its ability to defend itself and sustain if a fight becomes necessary, it is absolutely crucial," Cross cautioned.
"It is no point going in there thinking it is going to be all sweetness and light."
