UK and France to Deploy Forces to Ukraine if a Peace Agreement is Finalized

The UK and France have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of troops in Ukraine if a ceasefire be concluded with Russia, the British leader, Keir Starmer, has stated.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in the French capital, he noted that the two nations would "establish operational bases across Ukraine and build fortified facilities for military hardware and defense matériel" to deter any subsequent invasion.

The coalition members also put forward that the United States would play the primary role in monitoring a halt in hostilities.

Russia has consistently warned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "acceptable aim", but has so far not issued a statement on this recent announcement.

Context and Ongoing War

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a major offensive of Ukraine in February 2022, and Russian forces currently holds roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory.

"This is a vital part of our pledge to be alongside Ukraine for the duration," commented Starmer.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" were involved in the recent discussions.

He stated at a joint press conference, he noted: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could function on the ground in Ukraine, defending Ukraine's airspace and waters, and restoring Ukraine's defense capabilities for the time to come."

The PM also stated that Britain would participate in any Washington-directed confirmation of a possible cessation of hostilities.

Protection Pledges and Diplomatic Positions

Lead US negotiator Steve Witkoff remarked that "long-term defense assurances and substantial reconstruction vows are critical to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – mentioning a major condition made by Ukraine.

Witkoff noted the allies had "substantially agreed on" their work on finalizing such pledges "to ensure the people of Ukraine know that when this conflict ends, it ends forever."

The former US envoy, US President Donald Trump's advisor, also took part in the discussions.

Meanwhile, France's leader Emmanuel Macron declared that Ukraine's allies had made "considerable headway" at the meeting.

He added that "strong" defense assurances for Ukraine had been reached in the instance of a possible ceasefire.

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "significant development" had been made in the talks, but qualified that he would only view efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.

Earlier, he said a peace agreement was "mostly finalized". Settling the last 10% would "decide the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Territory and defense assurances have been at the heart of ongoing disputes for diplomats.
• Moscow has consistently stated that Kyiv's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any concession over how to conclude the war.
• Kyiv has so far rejected surrendering any land, but has proposed that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russia currently controls approximately 75% of the Donetsk oblast and around 99% of the bordering Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the industrial region of Donbas.

The initial US-led multi-point framework that was circulated to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its partners in Europe as being strongly biased in Moscow's direction.

This led to a period of high-level negotiations – with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to adjust the document.

The previous month, Ukraine sent the US an revised 20-point plan – as well as separate documents outlining prospective security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky said.