UK and France Plan to Send Military Personnel to the Country in the event that a Peace Agreement is Reached

The London and Paris have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of troops in Ukraine should a ceasefire be made with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has stated.

After discussions with allied nations in the French capital, he said that the allies would "create defense centers across Ukraine and build protected facilities for arms and equipment" to discourage any future incursion.

The coalition members also put forward that the United States would take the lead in monitoring a ceasefire.

Russia has repeatedly cautioned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has as yet not commented on this new declaration.

Context and Ongoing Hostilities

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a major offensive of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow presently holds about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our commitment to support Ukraine for the foreseeable future," stated the UK Prime Minister.

Top officials and high-ranking officials from the "Partner Group" took part in Tuesday's talks.

Addressing reporters at a combined announcement, Starmer further said: "It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could work on the ground in Ukraine, protecting Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and restoring Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

The British leader also stated that London would be involved in any American-headed verification of a prospective ceasefire.

Protection Pledges and Diplomatic Positions

Lead Washington representative Steve Witkoff remarked that "lasting security guarantees and substantial reconstruction vows are critical to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a central requirement made by Kyiv.

Witkoff indicated the allies had "substantially agreed on" their work on establishing such guarantees "so that the Ukrainian people know that when this hostilities ends, it ends permanently."

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, also was involved in the talks.

Separately, President Macron Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's allies had made "considerable advances" at the talks.

He said that "comprehensive" safety pledges for Ukraine had been reached in the case of a prospective truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "significant step forward" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only deem efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the cessation of the war.

Last week, he indicated a peace agreement was "mostly finalized". Settling the outstanding 10% would "shape the fate of the peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Land and security guarantees have been at the forefront of key disagreements for diplomats.
• Putin has consistently stated that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, dismissing any middle ground over how to conclude the war.
• The Ukrainian President has thus far rejected surrendering any land, but has proposed that Ukraine could move its forces to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russian forces currently holds about 75% of the Donetsk oblast and around 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk region. The two regions form the heartland of the Donbas.

The earlier US-led comprehensive framework that was circulated to the media last year was viewed by Kyiv and its EU supporters as being heavily skewed in Russia's direction.

This sparked weeks of focused discussions – with the involved parties trying to amend the document.

Last month, Kyiv sent the US an updated framework – as well as additional documents outlining prospective defense assurances and provisions for Ukraine's reconstruction, he stated.