Britain and France Plan to Send Military Personnel to Ukraine in the event that a Ceasefire Accord is Finalized

The London and Paris have signed a declaration of intent concerning the positioning of troops in Ukraine if a peace deal be concluded with Moscow, the Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Keir Starmer, has stated.

After talks with allied nations in Paris, he said that the allies would "create defense centers in various parts of Ukraine and construct secure facilities for military hardware and military equipment" to prevent any subsequent invasion.

The partner countries also suggested that the United States would take the lead in verifying a halt in hostilities.

Moscow has consistently stated that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "acceptable aim", but has as yet not issued a statement on this latest announcement.

Background and Continuing Conflict

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin began a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in the start of last year, and Russian forces presently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to support Ukraine for the long-term," stated the British leader.

National leaders and senior officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" were involved in the Paris negotiations.

Addressing reporters at a shared media briefing, Starmer further said: "It creates the pathway for the juridical structure under which British, French, and partner forces could work on Ukraine's territory, securing Ukraine's airspace and waters, and restoring Ukraine's military for the time to come."

The British leader added that Britain would be involved in any Washington-directed monitoring of a possible cessation of hostilities.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Lead US negotiator Steve Witkoff stated that "long-term defense assurances and robust reconstruction vows are critical to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – referring to a major demand made by Kyiv.

Witkoff said the partner nations had "substantially agreed on" their work on agreeing such guarantees "so that the Ukrainian people know that when this conflict ends, it ends for good."

Jared Kushner, former American President Donald Trump's special envoy, also took part in the discussions.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's partners had made "significant headway" at the negotiations.

He noted that "comprehensive" defense assurances for the Ukrainian government had been settled upon in the event of a possible ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "significant advance" had been made in the negotiations, but cautioned that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they led to the end of the war.

Last week, the Ukrainian leader indicated a peace deal was "largely prepared". Agreeing on the last 10% would "determine the outcome of the agreement, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Land and security guarantees have been at the heart of ongoing disputes for negotiators.
• Moscow has consistently stated that Ukraine's forces must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, refusing any compromise over how to end the war.
• The Ukrainian President has to date excluded surrendering any land, but has suggested that Ukraine could move its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russia presently controls about 75% of the Donetsk oblast and around 99% of the bordering Luhansk region. The areas form the heartland of the Donbas.

The original US-led comprehensive framework that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as being strongly biased in Moscow's direction.

This sparked a period of focused negotiations – with all sides trying to adjust the proposal.

Recently, Kyiv submitted the US an updated proposal – as well as additional documents describing potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's rebuilding, he added.