Britain and France have declared they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal, a major new commitment that has been under discussion for months, although one which Russia is likely to block forcefully.
The announcement came after a summit in Paris hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by more than two dozen leaders of the states that make up the “coalition of the willing” of Ukrainian allies, plus the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Macron, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a trilateral declaration of intent on Tuesday evening after hours of talks, which they said would pave the way for the deployment of French and British troops on Ukrainian soil. “Following a ceasefire, the UK and France will establish military hubs across Ukraine,” said Starmer.
However the planned ground force is unlikely to engage directly with Russian forces should Moscow relaunch an invasion of Ukraine. Macron made it clear that the goal of the force would be “to provide reassurance after the ceasefire” and noted it would be stationed “a long way behind the contact line”. There was no further clarity given immediately on the size or scope of the potential force.
Macron said the coalition had also drawn up a plan to take on “ceasefire monitoring commitments under American leadership” as well as “long-term support to Ukrainian armed forces”. Answering a question about whether the US would come to the aid of European forces if they were attacked in Ukraine, Witkoff said the security guarantees were “as strong as anyone has ever seen” and meant to “deter any further attacks”.
Zelenskyy said the issue of Ukraine giving up territory remained a sticking point. Starmer acknowledged that peace was not yet within reach: “We are closer to [peace] than ever but of course the hardest yards are still ahead. Putin is not showing he is ready for peace.” The Kremlin has said it will categorically oppose any Nato soldiers being based on Ukrainian soil as part of any deal.
