The United Kingdom and France Plan to Send Forces to Ukraine if a Peace Deal is Reached

The London and Paris have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the deployment of troops in Ukraine if a peace agreement be concluded with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has declared.

After discussions with Kyiv's partners in Paris, he noted that the two nations would "create operational bases across Ukraine and build fortified installations for military hardware and defense matériel" to discourage any subsequent invasion.

The coalition members also proposed that the United States would play the primary role in verifying a halt in hostilities.

Moscow has consistently warned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has so far not responded on this new declaration.

Background and Ongoing War

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow presently controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.

"This represents an essential component of our pledge to support Ukraine for the duration," remarked the British leader.

Top officials and senior officials from the "Partner Group" participated in the recent discussions.

Addressing reporters at a combined announcement, he added: "It establishes the framework for the operational parameters under which allied and coalition forces could work on the ground in Ukraine, defending Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the time to come."

The PM also stated that the UK would be involved in any Washington-directed monitoring of a possible cessation of hostilities.

Security Guarantees and Diplomatic Positions

Senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff said that "durable security guarantees and strong economic promises are essential to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a key demand made by Ukraine.

The negotiator noted the partner nations had "largely finished" their work on agreeing such pledges "so that the people of Ukraine know that when this hostilities ends, it ends forever."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, US President Donald Trump's representative, also was involved in the talks.

At the same time, President Macron Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's partners had made "significant progress" at the meeting.

He noted that "comprehensive" safety pledges for Kyiv had been settled upon in the event of a potential truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "significant step forward" had been made in the talks, but qualified that he would only view efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the cessation of the conflict.

Earlier, Zelensky indicated a peace agreement was "90% ready". Settling the outstanding 10% would "decide the fate of peace, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Remaining Challenges

• Territory and defense assurances have been at the forefront of key disagreements for diplomats.
• Putin has often said that Kyiv's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, refusing any compromise over how to end the war.
• The Ukrainian President has to date excluded ceding any territory, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russian forces currently occupies about 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the adjacent Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the industrial region of Donbas.

The original US-led comprehensive proposal that was widely leaked to the media last year was perceived by Ukraine and its European allies as being heavily skewed in Moscow's direction.

This sparked weeks of focused diplomacy – with all sides trying to revise the draft.

Last month, Ukraine presented the US an updated proposal – as well as distinct documents describing prospective defense assurances and provisions for Ukraine's recovery, he said.