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France and the United Kingdom are actively lobbying for an international peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, which would include about 30,000 troops. This was reported by The Times and Deutsche Welle. The initiative is intended to guarantee Ukraine’s security in the event of a possible truce with Russia. However, it is still unclear which countries will participate and how it will look like in practice.
According to the British press, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are trying to form a “coalition of goodwill” to support the deployment of peacekeepers. Currently, France and Britain are the only countries that have publicly confirmed their readiness for such a step.
Opinions among the allies are divided
The discussion on this issue was central to the closed European summit in Paris last month. Some countries expressed their readiness to support the initiative, others refrained from commenting, and still others were strongly opposed.
The Times reports that Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Turkey are being considered as potential participants in the mission. At the same time, countries such as Poland, Italy, Germany and Spain have not yet expressed their willingness to send troops.
Russia opposes
Predictably, Russia reacted negatively to the idea of sending international troops to Ukraine, calling it “provocative”. The Kremlin claims that no peacekeeping mission can be implemented without Moscow’s approval.
Experts: peacekeeping forces are needed
According to Western analysts such as General Ben Hodges, the presence of peacekeepers is critical to Ukraine’s stability. They propose the creation of a European Stabilisation Force (ESF-U), consisting of mechanised brigades, strike aircraft and modern air defence.
The initiative is currently under discussion. It is expected that this issue will be raised at the extraordinary EU summit in Brussels.
