Britain and France Plan to Send Troops to Ukraine in the event that a Peace Deal is Finalized

The London and Paris have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the positioning of armed personnel in the nation in the event a ceasefire be made with Russia, the Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he noted that the UK and France would "set up defense centers in various parts of Ukraine and build secure structures for arms and military equipment" to discourage any future incursion.

The coalition members also proposed that the America would play the primary role in monitoring a truce.

The Kremlin has on multiple occasions cautioned that any external forces in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has as yet not commented on this new announcement.

The Situation and Ongoing Conflict

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin initiated a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russian forces presently controls about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to support Ukraine for the duration," stated Starmer.

National leaders and high-ranking officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in the Paris negotiations.

Speaking at a shared media briefing, the Prime Minister added: "It creates the pathway for the legal framework under which allied and coalition forces could work on Ukraine's territory, securing Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and rebuilding Ukraine's defense capabilities for the years ahead."

The PM went on to say that the UK would be involved in any American-headed confirmation of a potential cessation of hostilities.

Protection Pledges and Diplomatic Positions

Lead US negotiator Steve Witkoff stated that "lasting safety pledges and substantial reconstruction vows are vital to a permanent resolution" in Ukraine – alluding to a major demand made by the Ukrainian government.

The negotiator indicated the coalition had "substantially agreed on" their work on establishing such pledges "to ensure the people of Ukraine know that when this war ends, it ends forever."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, ex-President Donald Trump's advisor, also participated in the discussions.

At the same time, France's leader Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's supporters had made "major advances" at the negotiations.

He added that "robust" security guarantees for the Ukrainian government had been settled upon in the event of a prospective ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a "huge advance" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only deem efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the conclusion of the conflict.

Recently, Zelensky indicated a settlement was "mostly finalized". Settling the last 10% would "determine the future of the peace, the destiny of Ukraine and Europe".

Remaining Challenges

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the heart of key disagreements for diplomats.
• Moscow has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will occupy it, rejecting any compromise over how to conclude the war.
• Zelensky has thus far excluded giving up any land, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia follows suit.

Russian forces presently holds about 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the adjacent Luhansk region. The areas form the industrial region of Donbas.

The initial US-led 28-point proposal that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Ukraine and its EU supporters as being disproportionately favorable in Moscow's direction.

This led to weeks of intensive negotiations – with the involved parties trying to amend the document.

Last month, Ukraine sent the US an updated framework – as well as additional documents detailing potential defense assurances and arrangements for Ukraine's rebuilding, Zelensky said.