Ukraine's European allies intend to offer Washington to deploy fewer than 30,000 troops from European countries there. As reported by the British The Daily Telegraph, citing Western officials familiar with the plan, it was agreed during an informal meeting of European leaders in Paris.
The publication reports that the proposals developed there will be presented to US President Donald Trump next week in Washington by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He will also insist that American fighter jets and missile systems be deployed in Romania and Poland and kept on high alert in case Russia violates the ceasefire. Earlier, the British Prime Minister said that London intends to take on the role of a mediator between Brussels and the new American administration.
According to sources of The Daily Telegraph, according to the plan proposed by Britain and France, Western troops should be deployed in the largest cities of Ukraine, including Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoy Rog, in key ports and at critical infrastructure facilities for the country, including nuclear power plants, in order to minimize the risks of direct confrontation between the troops of Russia and NATO countries. The contingent will use a wide range of technical means of surveillance, including satellites, drones and reconnaissance aircraft, to monitor the situation on the line of contact, where, according to the plan, Ukrainian troops will be deployed, the publication adds.
According to one of the newspaper's sources, Western peacekeepers will have sufficient military resources to prevent air threats and ensure the resumption of civil aviation flights in the skies over Ukraine. In the Black Sea, patrol ships will be required to monitor the safety of key trade routes.
Currently, Germany, Spain and Italy oppose plans to deploy Western troops in Ukraine, so it is proposed to use troops from members of the Joint Expeditionary Force to form contingents. The defense bloc, created in 2014, includes the United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
Earlier, Starmer announced his readiness to send troops to Ukraine as guarantees of the security of the authorities in Kiev in order to resolve the conflict. However, as a condition for the deployment of European troops in the country, he indicated guarantees from the United States. According to him, without them, no measures to "contain Russia" will be effective.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is negative about proposals to deploy European troops in Ukraine "under the guise of peacekeepers" and that this would constitute "a step towards escalation".