EU peacekeepers in Ukraine: an expert tells whether Britain's plan is realistic
Kyiv • UNN
The British plan calls for the deployment of 30,000 EU peacekeepers to protect Ukraine's strategic cities. Experts believe the plan is unlikely due to the refusal of EU countries and Russia's position on NATO troops.
The media reported that the British Prime Minister may propose to U.S. President Donald Trump a plan to deploy 30,000 European Union troops in Ukraine. However, according to Maksym Yali, an analyst at the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, this initiative seems unlikely, UNN reports.
Based on Russia's statements that it will not agree to have representatives of NATO countries among the peacekeepers, or Russia's agreement to agree on the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent, as the experience of 16-17 years shows, this is impossible, so it seems unlikely at the moment
He also emphasizes that the recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and Poland about refusing to send troops to Ukraine indicate that the UK itself, with only 70,000 troops, will not be able to implement this plan.
“That is, it is still difficult to understand where these figures came from, given that the first summit that Macron convened was mainly devoted to discussing the population of peacekeepers, and there were no agreements, neither from Italy, nor from Poland, nor from the majority of Ukraine. That is, it all looks like an attempt to find out the point of view of politicians and society. Therefore, it is premature to talk about the realism of this plan,” the analyst adds.
Regarding the effectiveness of the plan, Yali believes that it is too early to talk about the feasibility of this initiative. At the same time, the expert recalled that President Zelensky stated that Ukraine needs 200,000 peacekeepers to ensure peace.
According to Yali, it is currently difficult to predict where the peacekeepers will be deployed.
Normally, they should be deployed along the contact line. But you see, now there are options that in Poltava, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro they will be located not on the contact line
What is known so far?
The details of Keith Starmer's peace plan, according to unofficial information, provide for the deployment of a 30,000-strong contingent of peacekeepers in Ukraine. These peacekeepers would not take part in hostilities, but would be aimed at protecting strategic cities such as Poltava, Dnipro, and Kryvyi Rih, as well as ports and infrastructure, including nuclear power plants.
The European military could allegedly perform technical monitoring functions, conducting reconnaissance with the help of airplanes, satellites, and drones. In addition, according to the British newspaper The Telegraph, it is planned to patrol the Black Sea. The peacekeepers will be equipped with weapons and technical means to repel possible attacks from Russia.
At the same time, the United States could provide fighter jets and missiles to protect European peacekeepers and important facilities in Ukraine from Russian air attacks. In particular, we are talking about aircraft based in Poland and Romania.
Recall
German CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz considers it premature to talk about the involvement of the German military in a possible peacekeeping operation in Ukraine.
