NATIONWIDE protests today will urge the government to stop fuelling war in Ukraine and invest in public services instead.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Stop the War Coalition called the emergency day of action after weeks of escalation by Nato and Russia ramped up the nuclear threat in Europe.

US President-elect Donald Trump continues to raise questions over the future of Western support for Ukraine.

His return to the White House is seen as improving prospects for a negotiated end to the conflict, with PM Sir Keir Starmer acknowledging the possibility for the first time on Monday, saying Ukraine needed to be put in the “strongest possible position for negotiations.”

But he also stressed Britain would back Kiev “for as long as it takes,” as Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week urged European Nato members to raise military spending.

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt said: “The British government is playing a reckless game, risking the lives of even more Ukrainians, Russians, as well as populations in Europe and Britain.  

“Giving Ukraine the use of its long-range missiles to fire into Russia will not make any difference to the outcome of the conflict.

“Instead, Starmer risks dragging Britain into an all-out war with nuclear-armed Nato and Russia. 

“Starmer’s government argues it needs to increase military spending to defend us against a more insecure world, but British military actions are worsening this insecurity, not resolving it.

“Britain needs to withdraw the missiles and get behind peace talks now.”

Protesters wearing Keir Starmer masks and brandishing Storm Shadow “missiles” are expected to gather from 2.30pm at the Ministry of Defence, opposite Downing Street.

RMT president Alex Gordon and Morning Star editor Ben Chacko will be among those giving speeches in the capital, with rallies, vigils and street stalls also being organised in Bath, Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth, Brighton and Newcastle.

Stop the War’s Lindsey German said: “Nato expansion has made eastern Europe more dangerous and for the Labour government to endorse Volodymyr Zelensky’s view, in his desperate efforts to get a favourable deal with incoming US president Donald Trump, that Nato membership is the way to end the war, is foolish and cynical.

“He knows one reason for the conflict was precisely this.

“Zelensky is also having to deal with the growing unpopularity of the war among the population and the discontent among troops, with desertions growing rapidly.

“We desperately need peace negotiations but, just as in Tony Blair’s time, our government, given a choice between international law, morality and common decency, will always come down on the side of war.

“Starmer, Lammy and the rest must be stopped.”

Peace Pledge Union’s Geoff Tibbs said the British government is pushing the world one step closer to all-out nuclear war between Russia and Nato by allowing Ukraine to use British missiles inside Russia.

“Around the globe we are seeing more violence and instability than at any other time this century,” he added.

“We urgently need solutions based on peace talks, de-escalation and disarmament.”

He said Sir Keir’s ramping up of military tensions with Russia will do “nothing to shorten the war or deter Putin’s aggression,” urging ministers to listen to peace activists and the growing numbers of conscientious objectors in both Ukraine and Russia instead.

A spokeswoman for Momentum said: “The war in Ukraine has already led to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians being killed and injured.

“Reckless military escalation by the West will only prolong the war and deepen Ukrainians’ suffering, as well as drastically increasing the danger of a nuclear confrontation.

“The government must embark on serious attempts to achieve a negotiated peace, while drawing down military spending in favour of our underfunded public services.”

MPs and peace campaigners handed in a letter last month calling on Britain to end its reckless role in intensifying the war in Ukraine to Sir Keir at Downing Street.

The hand-in followed the US and Britain allowing Ukraine to fire long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems and Storm Shadow missiles at Russian territory.

This saw Russia lower the threshold for nuclear use and its launching of a new hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time on the battlefield.

The letter was signed by MPs Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Ayoub Khan, Shockat Adam and Iqbal Mohamed.