Britain and France to Deploy Troops to the Country should a Ceasefire Accord is Reached

The British and French governments have formalized a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of armed personnel in Ukraine if a peace deal be struck with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced.

Subsequent to discussions with Kyiv's partners in Paris, he said that the allies would "create defense centers across Ukraine and build fortified structures for weapons and defense matériel" to prevent any potential attack.

The allied nations also proposed that the America would assume leadership in overseeing a halt in hostilities.

Moscow has repeatedly cautioned that any external forces in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has not yet responded on this new development.

Context and Continuing Conflict

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin launched a major offensive of Ukraine in early 2022, and Moscow at this time controls roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This represents an essential component of our vow to be alongside Ukraine for the long-term," stated Starmer.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Partner Group" participated in the recent discussions.

Addressing reporters at a shared media briefing, Starmer noted: "It paves the way for the operational parameters under which allied and coalition forces could work on Ukrainian soil, protecting Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and regenerating Ukraine's military for the time to come."

The British leader went on to say that London would be involved in any US-led verification of a potential cessation of hostilities.

Security Guarantees and Diplomatic Positions

Senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff stated that "long-term defense assurances and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – alluding to a key demand made by Kyiv.

The negotiator indicated the allies had "mostly completed" their work on agreeing such guarantees "in order that the Ukrainian people know that when this conflict ends, it ends permanently."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, US President Donald Trump's representative, also took part in the discussions.

Separately, France's leader Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's partners had made "considerable advances" at the talks.

He noted that "robust" safety pledges for Kyiv had been settled upon in the case of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a "huge step forward" had been made in Paris, but cautioned that he would only consider efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the cessation of the conflict.

Last week, Zelensky indicated a settlement was "mostly finalized". Agreeing on the remaining 10% would "determine the future of the peace, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Sovereign soil and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.
• The Russian President has often said that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to conclude the war.
• Zelensky has to date excluded ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russian forces presently controls approximately 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 28-point peace plan that was circulated to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its partners in Europe as being heavily skewed in Moscow's direction.

This sparked weeks of intensive diplomacy – with all sides trying to revise the proposal.

Last month, Ukraine presented the US an new 20-point plan – as well as additional documents describing possible defense assurances and arrangements for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky said.