LABOUR pledged today to pour more money and arms into the Ukraine conflict even as the prospect of peace emerged this week.

Turning his back on US President Donald Trump’s negotiations, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would continue to “ramp up the money, the capability that we are putting into Ukraine.”

He added that it was “really important that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, whether that’s in discussions or whether it’s continued fighting.”

And the government recommitted to Ukraine joining Nato, despite new Pentagon chief Peter Hegseth in Munich explicitly ruling out Kiev becoming part of the war alliance in any peace deal.

Defence Minister Maria Eagle told MPs: “We’ve always said that Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato, and our position is that Ukraine is on an irreversible path to Nato membership.

“But we’ve also always been clear that this is a process which takes time.”

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German pointed out that the deal outlined by Trump “could have been reached three years ago. 

“Instead we have had three years of unnecessary death and destruction with the world a more dangerous place.

“British governments have tried to prolong this war and we now see the consequences of that policy.”

But most MPs from all parties seemed to favour a prolongation of the conflict, with the air thick with allegations of appeasement. 

Veteran Tory enemy of the peace movement Julian Lewis urged the government to “impress on President Trump at every possible opportunity that the reason why appeasement led to World War II was that it left a vacuum in Europe.

“If he is going for a settlement against the wishes of the Ukrainian people, the least he can do is guarantee directly the security of that part of Ukraine which remains unoccupied.”

Sir Julian’s line is supported by a group of organisations organising a Russian Troops Out protest at the Russian embassy in London on February 22.

In a letter signed by, among others, GMB general secretary Gary Smith, Aslef train drivers’ union leader Mick Whelan, miners’ union general secretary Chris Kitchen and Civil Service union PCS assistant general secretary John Moloney, it argues: “The similarities to the 1938 Munich Agreement and what may come from this Munich conference are obvious.

“History has taught us that partitions do not provide a sustainable peace, while Russia occupies part of Ukraine it will be impossible for Ukrainians to truly determine their own future freely.”