Peacekeeping mission of France and Britain to Ukraine: less and less confidence

Officials' statements regarding the formation of a Western peacekeeping mission are sounding increasingly skeptical. Plans remain open, preparations are underway, but comments are emerging in which the parties are counting their forces, expressing uncertainty.

UNN reports with reference to Reuters.

European efforts to create security mechanisms for Ukraine are shifting from sending troops to other alternatives.

European forces are facing political and logistical constraints. Also, European countries are looking at the prospect of countering Russia and the United States, given the likely plans of the latter.

London and Paris have been working for weeks on a plan to send thousands of troops to Ukraine to help ensure a future ceasefire.

Reuters refers to its diplomatic sources, in comments to the publication, officials admit that sending military peacekeeping forces is not the most likely outcome.

Comments from diplomats

They are retreating from ground troops and trying to change what they were doing into something that might be more sensible

Another unnamed diplomat told Reuters:

When Ukraine was in a better position, the idea of sending troops was attractive. But now, given the situation on the ground and the US administration, it's not very sexy

A senior European defense official said that while the focus of the idea is moving away from "European boots on the ground", but: 

This does not mean that individual countries will not have soldiers deployed in Ukraine for training and other support

US position

President Donald Trump, who has drastically shifted US policy towards accepting the Russian narrative regarding Russia's war against Ukraine, initially responded favorably to the peacekeeping proposals of Great Britain and France.

Russia is not ready for an unconditional ceasefire - OP26.03.25, 15:50 • 24105 views

However, American officials have recently been more skeptical. Last week, in an interview with podcaster Tucker Carlson, Trump's ambassador Steve Witkoff ridiculed European proposals as "posing and posturing."

What is planned for the near future

Officials said that discussions during the meeting in Paris this week will focus on a number of issues.

Key ones:

• how to strengthen Ukraine in the military sphere to deter future attacks;
• how to control the limited cessation of fire over maritime targets and energy infrastructure.

Security guarantees are a kind of intercontinental "buffet breakfast" in which you have 1000 extra dishes

"In the end, everything will depend on the degree of sincerity of the ceasefire," he added. 

And I'm not optimistic

An official of the French President said that during negotiations with the United States, officials expressed interest in a significant European contribution after the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.

Reference

France, which is working closely with Great Britain to develop options, will host 30 leaders and delegations from about 30 countries of the world on Thursday, who have become part of the "coalition of the willing" to try to implement some ideas.

Let us remind you

Ukraine confirmed its readiness for a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. The States supported Kyiv's position and expressed their readiness to mediate to achieve lasting peace.

An agreement on a ceasefire was concluded with the mediation of the USA and Saudi Arabia. Russia will benefit much more than Ukraine, The Times writes.