France and UK Pledge Troops for Ukraine
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Top of the Agenda
France and the United Kingdom (UK) pledged to deploy troops to postwar Ukraine as U.S. envoys discussed plans for ceasefire monitoring at a Paris meeting yesterday. A group of Ukraine’s allies who dub themselves the Coalition of the Willing have for months been meeting without the United States; they hailed Washington’s participation in yesterday’s summit as major progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that solidifying details on Ukraine’s postwar security architecture brought the country closer to peace, though Russia did not immediately comment on the developments.
The details. France and the UK signed a declaration of intent to deploy forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. The two countries plan to establish military hubs across Ukraine and build facilities for defense equipment. French President Emmanuel Macron said he expected other nations to soon join in pledging troops, as the mostly European group also declared it was ready to commit to post-truce guarantees, including a U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism.
While the United States did not sign the declaration, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said after the summit that President Donald Trump “strongly stands behind security protocols.” Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as the top U.S. general in Europe Alexus Grynkewich also participated in talks. Unnamed officials told media outlets that the proposed U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism included unmanned drones, sensors, and satellites rather than U.S. troops.
Where peace talks stand. This is the latest effort by Ukraine’s allies to refine peace terms since Washington proposed a plan in November widely seen as favorable to Russia. Russia has previously rejected the possibility of NATO troops being deployed to Ukraine and vowed to reject changes to the November proposal. Direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have still not occurred.
“The group that has coalesced around military support for Ukraine…[has] rationale [that] is both normative and strategic: these states understand that European security ultimately depends on Ukraine’s military defense and national survival.” —CFR President Emeritus Richard N. Haass on Substack
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