Is NATO Preparing to Put Troops against Russia in Ukraine?

NATO sounds increasingly desperate after Ukraine’s failed counter-offensive in its war against Russia and fearing Ukraine’s defeat, the United Kingdom is even considering putting its own troops in Ukraine to fight Russia directly.

On Saturday, December 16, The New Voice of Ukraine reported that the United Kingdom is considering sending its armed forces to Ukraine, though they won’t publicly admit it. The story cited an interview of Ukrainian diplomat and former Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko on Radio Liberty wherein he said:

“Every time they are asked, they will say, ‘no, no, no way, come on, we’d rather give them everything they need. But in reality, the military is making calculations that, God forbid, they will have to use armed forces. That’s why the military and diplomats are there, to plan for the future.”

While the UK has not publicly acknowledged such a possibility, it has increasingly been involved in assisting Ukraine via multiple means in its conflict with Russia. Earlier this month, the UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced sending two mine-hunting ships to Ukraine as part of an effort in collaboration with Norway to strengthen Ukraine’s navy. The news broke at the same time that America’s nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric announced selling advanced nuclear power plant equipment to the Ukrainian government.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, cited by Ukrayinska Pravda, the AR1000 technology will be used to build advanced nuclear reactors that do not yet exist anywhere else in Europe.

Days before he was fired from Fox News earlier this year, conservative journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson brought up on his show the alarming revelation that Ukraine contains sensitive American nuclear technology.

Meanwhile Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu issued a statement on Tuesday (December 19) claiming that a number of NATO states already have boots on the ground in Ukraine. Russia Today cited Shoigu saying:

“NATO service members are directly operating air defense systems, tactical ballistic missiles, and multiple launch rocket systems.”

Currently, Russia is reportedly advancing on multiple fronts in Ukrainian territories that Russia annexed last year after an election that Ukraine and the west rejected as a sham. Both Russian and western sources report daily on intense fighting between the two sides in Avdiivka and Maryinka, two cities in the Donetsk region that are still partly under Ukrainian control. Ukraine’s major port city Odessa is also under attack and in a recent televised news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Odessa a Russian city.

Within Ukraine, the political scene seems to be turning against President Zelenskyy, who is reported to be at odds with his Commander in Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. On Monday (December 18), Zaluzhny told media that one of his offices was bugged. While he didn’t provide any details, the Associated Press wrote that suspicions immediately fell on Russia. However, there is speculation among independent commentators that Zelensky and Zaluzhny are in an ongoing power feud.