The “Coalition of the Willing” has moved to discussing air patrols and ensuring Ukraine’s maritime security, rather than sending troops, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.
According to Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, the shift in focus of the talks reflects the lack of capacity of the UK armed forces to deploy significant numbers of troops to Ukraine after the conflict is resolved.
On Thursday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking at the Royal Air Force’s Joint Overseas Operations Headquarters in north London, said that Britain is drawing up plans for military land, sea and air operations in Ukraine to ensure compliance with the peace agreement once the conflict is resolved.
Earlier, British media reported that London and Paris hope to form a "peacekeeping corps" of 10,000 to 30,000 troops to secure a peace agreement for Ukraine. It was also noted that under the agreement, British RAF fighter jets could patrol Ukrainian airspace, taking off from Polish territory.
According to The Daily Telegraph, air cover could be provided by NATO countries on a rotational basis.
French President Emmanuel Macron is considering the possibility of granting peacekeeping status to the "coalition of the willing" troops in Ukraine through the UN after the conflict is resolved. This was reported by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, citing its sources.
According to the publication, Macron raised this issue at the EU summit in Brussels on March 20.