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Dec 9, 2025
Understanding the United Kingdom's Fake Ukraine Peace Play
The National Interest
The United Kingdom has no desire to give up on the Ukraine War -- but it has signaled a desire for peace as a way to keep America on board.
A strange reversal is underway in the annals of modern British foreign policy. After having been one of the unremitting supporters of the Ukrainian cause, at least since the Russian invasion in February 2022, British pundits and officials are making clear their support for a negotiated settlement that would end the Ukraine War.
Recently, I appeared on Al Arabiya English with Sir Michael Fallon, the former British defense secretary who served during Prime Minister David Cameron's reign more than a decade ago, in which he explained the need for Ukraine to seek some form of a negotiated settlement.
While not in office, Sir Michael has plenty of connections still with the current British elite. It is unlikely that he was merely speaking for himself. Of course, it should be noted that in our previous panel from this last summer on Al Arabiya English, Sir Michael was adamantly opposed to any form of negotiated settlement with Russia over Ukraine.
How the UK Changed Its Mind About Ukraine -- Sort Of
In just a few months, the British have gone from crying "Havoc!" and letting slip the dogs of war against Russia in Ukraine to quietly encouraging Kyiv to embrace a settlement to end the war -- no matter how distasteful it might be.
This is less a change of heart and more of a wily wait-and-see approach. The British government does not actually favor a peace deal that would address, as the Russians constantly insist, the "root causes" of the Ukraine War. Instead, London wants to buy time for Ukraine to restore its fighting capabilities and be prepared to reopen hostilities at a more favorable point.
To be clear: the British and the Europeans do not want a permanent peace in Ukraine. They want to essentially wait out the Trump administration, which has around 35 months left in office -- and is likely to be hamstrung if the Democrats r
