'Among Greatest...': Trump Heaps Praise On UK Troops After Outrage Over Afghanistan Remarks

Last Updated:January 25, 2026, 09:02 IST

Trump acknowledged the sacrifice of UK troops during the Afghanistan war, noting that 457 British soldiers were killed and many more wounded.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer with US President Donald Trump. (Reuters file photo)

US President Donald Trump has sought to ease tensions with key allies by publicly praising British soldiers, a day after his remarks downplaying the role of European forces in Afghanistan sparked sharp backlash from the United Kingdom and other NATO partners.

In a post on social media on Saturday, Trump acknowledged the sacrifice of UK troops during the Afghanistan war, noting that 457 British soldiers were killed and many more wounded.

He described them as “among the greatest of all warriors" and подчеркed the enduring military bond between the two countries.

“The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America," he wrote, adding that the alliance was “too strong to ever be broken."

The message followed widespread anger over comments Trump made earlier in the week in which he appeared to downplay the role of NATO allies in Afghanistan.

In an interview with Fox Business on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said European troops had stayed “a little off the front lines," a claim that drew immediate condemnation from allied capitals.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the remarks as “insulting and, frankly, appalling," saying the contribution and sacrifice of British forces should never be diminished.

Asked whether Trump should apologise, Starmer said that if he himself had spoken in such terms, he “would certainly apologise."

While Trump stopped short of issuing a formal apology, his praise of UK troops came after a phone call with Starmer earlier on Saturday, according to Downing Street.

In a statement, Starmer’s office said the prime minister reminded the US president of the “brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home," stressing that their sacrifice must never be forgotten.

The controversy also prompted a response from Prince Harry, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He said the sacrifices made by British soldiers deserved to be discussed “truthfully and with respect."

Anger over Trump’s remarks extended beyond the UK. Leaders across Europe, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron, voiced strong objections, underlining the scale of the multinational effort in Afghanistan.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, NATO’s collective defence clause, Article 5, was invoked for the first time, bringing troops from dozens of allied countries into the conflict.

Alongside US and British forces, soldiers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and others served in Afghanistan. More than 150 Canadian troops and around 90 French service members were killed, while the US lost over 2,400 soldiers.

The human cost of the war extended far beyond foreign militaries. A 2021 estimate by Brown University’s Costs of War project put the number of Afghan civilians killed directly as a result of the invasion and subsequent fighting at more than 46,000.

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