There are still many questions about the idea of deploying a foreign contingent, but we are in dialogue with French President Emmanuel Macron.
This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with The Associated Press, UNN reports.
The idea of a foreign military contingent is part of the discussion on security guarantees, but it is not enough by itself. It cannot be just a symbolic presence on paper. If they are here to protect us, we need to know exactly who is in charge and what their mandate is in case of an attack
The President noted that Ukraine needs to understand the quantity and quality of this contingent.
How many of them are career soldiers. This is very important for us. Real presence, not on paper. If we are talking about the contingent and that it is part of the defense, we need to know how many of them there are, where they are, who is in charge, and what they will do in case of danger
Zelenskyy cited the situation with embassies as an example when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Let me give you an example. We have different institutions: embassies and so on. There are also some institutions that were supported by the United States, and when the full-scale invasion began, all embassies left. Why do I give this example? Imagine this contingent standing there. The question is who is in charge? What are they going to do if there are Russian strikes, missiles, landings, a land attack, crossing the land border, an offensive? What is their mandate? This is very important
When asked if he had asked Macron these questions, Zelenskyy replied: “We are still in the process of this dialog.
AddendumAddendum
Zelenskyy has previously stated that Ukraine is discussing with some partners an initiative to deploy a foreign contingent. However, it is too early to talk about the number and details, as it will depend on the format of security guarantees for Ukraine. Kyiv does not consider security guarantees without the participation of the United States.