SIR KEIR STARMER said peace in Ukraine should be backed by a coalition of Nato troops as he slapped further sanctions on the Kremlin on the third anniversary of the war today.

The Prime Minister said US President Donald Trump has provided an “opportunity” by starting peace talks with Russia without involving Ukraine or European states, though Britain had opposed talks before the US U-turn.

He told world leaders in Kiev: “President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity. Now we must get the fundamentals right.

“If we want peace to endure, Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.

“The UK is ready and willing to support this with troops on the ground, with other Europeans and with the right conditions in place and, ultimately, a US backstop will be vital to deter Russia from launching another invasion in just a few years’ time.”

Sir Keir is to raise these questions in talks with President Trump in Washington this week, though the US leader has downplayed the contribution Britain or France could make, retorting that the PM and President Emmanuel Macron “didn’t do anything” to secure peace until Washington’s approach to Moscow.

Peace campaigners have blasted the Labour government for risking a direct confrontation with Russia by sending troops to Ukraine.

Stop the War’s Lindsey German said demands for higher defence spending are “indefensible,” while Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s Sophie Bolt stressed military de-escalation was key to ensuring peace.

The Prime Minister, who is facing pressure to use the Washington trip to confirm a timeline to raise British defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income, added that he would urge the G7 to take on more risk in trying to disrupt Russia’s oil trade, sanctioning Russian oil giants and going after banks that enable Russia to evade Western sanctions, which have no standing in international law as they are not authorised by the UN.

The Home Office announced a move today to widen travel sanctions for Kremlin-linked elites.

Local and federal politicians as well as managers or directors of large Russian companies will face exclusion from Britain under the rules, which come on top of existing travel bans on high-profile business figures such as former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

Stop the War Coalition vice-chair Chris Nineham said: “Starmer’s proposals to send troops to Ukraine under whatever guise is a typical piece of empty patriotic posturing which conveniently skates over the fact that he has gone from being a champion of continuing the carnage there to accepting that a peace process is inevitable.”