Britain and France Plan to Send Troops to the Country should a Peace Deal is Agreed

The British and French governments have formalized a memorandum of understanding concerning the deployment of troops in Ukraine should a peace agreement be struck with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Starmer, has declared.

Following talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he noted that the allies would "establish military hubs throughout Ukraine and construct fortified structures for military hardware and defense matériel" to deter any potential incursion.

The partner countries also suggested that the America would assume leadership in overseeing a ceasefire.

Russia has consistently warned that any external forces in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has not yet responded on this new declaration.

The Situation and Ongoing Conflict

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russian forces currently holds about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to stand with Ukraine for the long-term," remarked Starmer.

Heads of state and senior officials from the "Partner Group" were involved in the recent discussions.

Addressing reporters at a combined announcement, he noted: "It establishes the framework for the juridical structure under which British, French, and partner forces could work on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and restoring Ukraine's military for the future."

The British leader went on to say that London would participate in any US-led verification of a possible truce.

Protection Pledges and Negotiation Stances

Senior American diplomat Steve Witkoff remarked that "durable safety pledges and strong reconstruction vows are essential to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – referring to a central requirement made by Kyiv.

He noted the coalition had "substantially agreed on" their work on establishing such assurances "in order that the Ukrainian people know that when this conflict ends, it ends permanently."

The former US envoy, former American President Donald Trump's special envoy, also participated in the talks.

At the same time, President Macron Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's supporters had made "major advances" at the negotiations.

He noted that "strong" defense assurances for the Ukrainian government had been reached in the case of a potential truce.

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "major step forward" had been made in the talks, but qualified that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they led to the cessation of the conflict.

Last week, Zelensky suggested a peace deal was "mostly finalized". Settling the last 10% would "decide the outcome of the agreement, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Sovereign soil and security guarantees have been at the center of key disagreements for diplomats.
• Moscow has often said that Kyiv's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, dismissing any middle ground over how to end the war.
• Kyiv has thus far rejected ceding any land, but has proposed that Ukraine could move its forces to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia does the same.

Moscow presently 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 initial US-led 28-point peace plan that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its partners in Europe as being disproportionately favorable in Moscow's direction.

This triggered weeks of intensive discussions – with all sides trying to revise the document.

Recently, Ukraine submitted the US an updated 20-point plan – as well as separate documents detailing potential security guarantees and arrangements for Ukraine's reconstruction, the President stated.