British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will present to Donald Trump a plan to deploy about 30,000 European troops to Ukraine to maintain the ceasefire. The Telegraph writes, citing sources, UNN reports.
Details
During a meeting in Washington next week, Starmer is expected to detail how European troops will be able to enforce any ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump.
According to Western officials briefed on the plans, he will urge Trump to keep U.S. fighter jets and missiles on standby in Eastern Europe to respond with a strong force if Russia violates the terms of the truce that is to be concluded.
The Anglo-French "reassurance force" strategy was presented to Europe's most influential leaders at an emergency meeting in Paris earlier this week as they sought to respond to the start of Trump's peace talks with Vladimir Putin.
The strategy was developed amid fears that the US president would wash his hands of Ukraine and any ceasefire almost immediately after any agreement was reached.
It is noted that Starmer will argue that it is in the interests of the United States to remain involved in preventing a third Russian invasion after the end of hostilities.
The Telegraph reports that under the Anglo-French plan, fewer than 30,000 European-led troops would be deployed in Ukrainian cities, ports and other critical infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, far from the current front lines.
Instead of deploying a much larger contingent to a war-torn country, the mission will rely on "technical monitoring," including reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, drones and satellites to provide a "complete picture of what is happening
The source added that the operation will be backed by sufficient firepower to "track and repel attacks" to reopen Ukraine's airspace and allow commercial flights.
According to The Telegraph, naval patrol ships will also be sent to the Black Sea to monitor Russian threats to commercial shipping lanes.
The newspaper adds that the plan outlined by Western officials is far from the 200,000-strong peacekeeping mission that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded as a possible price for signing a peace deal.
But with Germany, Spain, and Italy opposing the deployment of a peacekeeping mission, European options for securing Ukraine's future seem limited.
Leaving the talks in Paris, Starmer said that such an operation would require "U.S. support" to deter Russia from attacking again.
This support could include American fighter jets stationed in Romania and Poland, ready to respond to any future Russian aggression.
A much larger multinational ground force could also be based on NATO's eastern borders, which could be deployed to protect European troops in Ukraine if necessary.
This strategy is also consistent with the long-term policy of not engaging NATO forces in direct confrontation with Russian forces in support of Ukraine.
It is hoped that Trump will support this strategy, as it will mean that US troops will not be deployed in Ukraine after the war
"A European official told The Telegraph that NATO will also have to start discussions on Article 5 on mutual defense, which states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all. Although the provision is not expected to apply to European troops stationed in Ukraine, some countries will insist that it remains in place if Moscow decides to attack their territory because of the deployment," the newspaper reports.
Recall
Earlier, Keir Starmer announced his readiness to deploy British troops to Ukraine to ensure peace agreements. The UK plans to play a leading role in ensuring Ukraine's security and allocates 3 billion pounds annually until 2030.
Macron and Starmer will visit Washington next week19.02.25, 20:24 • [views_35385]