LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was pictured aboard a submarine in a rare showcasing of the country’s nuclear deterrent on the day international military planners meet in London to discuss a peacekeeping force to support Ukraine.
Starmer secretly visited the nuclear submarine earlier this week, but footage from his visit was only released by his Downing Street office on Thursday.
It showed Starmer meeting submariners returning from a months-long patrol at sea – the first time a British prime minister has done so in more than a decade.
On Thursday he will make a separate visit to a nuclear submarine facility in north west England to formally mark the beginning of the construction of a new Dreadnought-class submarine, which will eventually replace the Vanguard class submarines.
Starmer’s visit comes at a time when European countries are increasing defence spending and seeking to reduce their dependence on the United States following U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Military chiefs from dozens of countries will meet in Britain on Thursday to discuss planning for a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
Britain earlier this week said a “significant number” of countries were willing to provide peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of soldiers from countries belonging to the NATO military alliance being stationed in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by William James)
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