Jaroslav LukivAnd
Wyre Davies,Kyiv
The United Kingdom and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached with Russia, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
After talks with Ukraine’s allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would “establish military centers across Ukraine” to deter a future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops could be deployed.
Allies also largely agreed on strong security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the United States take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key question of territory is still under discussion.
Russia has repeatedly warned that any presence of foreign troops in Ukraine would constitute a “legitimate target.”
Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls around 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
Heads of state and senior officials of the “Coalition of the Willing” took part in the negotiations on Tuesday in Paris.
Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: “We signed a statement of intent on deploying forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
“This is an essential part of our commitment to supporting Ukraine over the long term.
“This paves the way for the legal framework within which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine’s skies and seas and regenerating Ukraine’s armed forces for the future,” he added.
The British prime minister added that London would participate in any US-led verification of a possible ceasefire.
Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said “enduring security guarantees and strong commitments to prosperity are essential to lasting peace” in Ukraine – referring to a key demand made by kyiv.
Witkoff said the allies “have largely completed” their work to reach an agreement on security protocols “so that the Ukrainian people know that when this happens, [war] It ends, it ends forever.”
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy and son-in-law, said that after a deal, Ukrainians needed to know that “real safety nets” were in place to ensure war “never happens again.”
Meanwhile, President Macron said Ukraine’s allies had made “considerable progress” in negotiations.
He said “robust” security guarantees for kyiv had been agreed in the event of a possible ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a “huge step forward” had been made in Paris, but added that he would consider the efforts “sufficient” only if they resulted in an end to the war.
What Ukraine calls security “guarantees” and what U.S. officials have described as security “protocols” could give Trump some leeway in the event he comes to kyiv’s defense after a future Russian attack — but there is no doubt that Zelensky believes he and his European allies have won an important concession from Washington.
We have heard few, if any, details about where a future ceasefire line would be drawn and what territory, currently occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine would agree to surrender.
This prospect is still something many Ukrainians would find hard to swallow, especially as Russia continues to strike cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on a daily basis.
But as snow falls and fierce winds blow from the east, Zelensky knows that the only alternative to a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal is another costly and attritional winter of war, with inevitable loss of life that will hit Ukraine far harder than Russia.
Ukraine’s president clearly hopes that guarantees of U.S. surveillance, a multinational force on Ukrainian soil and increased weapons support for his armed forces will convince a sometimes skeptical population that he is right to seek peace, backed by a growing international coalition.
But concluding the press conference in Paris, Zelensky acknowledged that today’s “milestone” does not necessarily guarantee peace. Real progress still needs Russian support, and Moscow has remained notably silent in recent days on diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Putin is known to oppose the prospect of a European-led international force in any disputed areas and will be reluctant to stop his troops’ advance, albeit slow, if Moscow’s war aims have not been achieved.
But pressure is undoubtedly increasing on both sides to compromise and end the war.
Last week, Zelensky says peace deal ‘90% ready’. Agreeing on the remaining 10% would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe.”
Territory and security guarantees were at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.
Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Eastern Donbass, otherwise Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise on how to end the war.
Zelensky has so far ruled out any territorial ceding, but has suggested that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.
Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and about 99% of the neighboring Luhansk region. The two regions form the Donbass industrial region.
The initial 28-point US-led peace plan, widely disclosed in the media last year, was seen by kyiv and its European allies as heavily biased in favor of Russia.
That sparked weeks of intensive high-level diplomacy — with Ukraine, the United States and European leaders trying to amend the plan.
Last month, Kyiv sent the United States an updated 20-point plan, as well as separate documents outlining potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Zelensky said.
