British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is ready to send British troops to Ukraine as part of any postwar peacekeeping force as talks aimed at ending the conflict are set to begin this week.

Starmer said he had not taken the decision to consider putting British servicemen and women "in harm's way" lightly, but securing a lasting peace in Ukraine was essential to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from further aggression, according to a Reuters report, .

Starmer, in an article published in The Daily Telegraph on Sunday, wrote that he was “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.

"I do not say that lightly... I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm's way."

The prime minister added: "But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine's security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country."

The end of Russia's war with Ukraine "when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again," Starmer wrote.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end Moscow's war, signalling that US talks with Russia this week were a chance to see how serious Putin is about peace.

According to a BBC report, Sir Keir's announcement comes after the former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, told the BBC the UK military was "so run down" it could not lead any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

UK troops could be deployed alongside soldiers from other European nations alongside the border between Ukrainian-held and Russian-held territory. The PM has previously only hinted that British troops could be involved in safeguarding Ukraine after a ceasefire.

Starmer is expected to join German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other European leaders in Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron convened the talks on Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump stunned European allies in NATO and Ukraine last week when he announced he had held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting with them and would start a peace process.

Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, then suggested Ukraine and other European leaders would have no place at peace negotiations.