KYIV — Ukraine’s key allies meet Thursday to continue hashing out the details of any peacekeeping mission sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
They’ll be led by France’s Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his British counterpart John Healey, who will meet with their fellow defense ministers from the so-called coalition of the willing that includes many European countries, Canada and Australia but not the United States at NATO HQ in Brussels.
Chiefs of defense staff of both the United Kingdom and France were in Ukraine last week and briefed their counterparts earlier this week, the French Armed Forces Ministry said.
The meetings are helping flesh out what Kyiv would like from a peacekeeping mission — something it sees as critical to prevent Russia from attacking again, especially as the U.S. and other countries have blocked its hopes of being invited to join NATO.
“We discuss foreign troops’ presence on land, in the sky and at sea. Air defense, as well as other delicate strategic issues. Our partners understand what Ukraine needs. There are some sensitive geographical points where we would want to have a backup,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told POLITICO at a news conference in Kyiv last Friday after the meeting of Ukrainian, French, and U.K. military staffs.
“We discussed not only the quantity of troops, but also the issue of mandate of those troops and also infrastructure. Dates, understanding at what point of talks we can actually count on a contingent, are important to me,” Zelenskyy said, adding he expects to get clarity within a month.
U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing both Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting and to come to a peace agreement; Ukraine is on board but Russia has violated the partial ceasefire it agreed to last month, so far with no consequences from the U.S. president.
About a dozen countries might be willing join the coalition and send troops to Ukraine, Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office and his chief defense adviser, told reporters.
“There is also talk of the participation of the Baltic and Nordic countries. In any case, this can be implemented through bilateral agreements with each member country of the coalition,” Palisa said.
However, many countries including the U.K. are reluctant to send their soldiers to Ukraine without some sort of U.S. support — known as a backstop — including air support, logistics, and intelligence, something that is unlikely under Trump.
Meanwhile, Russia says any allied troop deployment without a United Nations mandate would be unacceptable.
The debate among Ukraine’s European allies is whether the forces that they’re talking about sending would be large enough to deter a Russian attack. However, Kyiv is confident that the process is well underway.
“The only question is in what format this will be implemented. That is why discussions are currently ongoing: There is our basic vision, and there is the vision of our partners based on their capabilities. After all the details are agreed, we will be able to move on to a more substantive conversation,” Palisa said.
“We understand perfectly well that to make such decisions, synchronization of both the military and political components is necessary. Only after that can we move on,” Palisa added.
Ukraine currently has one of the most capable and biggest armies in Europe, which is its own strongest security guarantee. But with the entry to NATO blocked, it needs allied troops on the ground to police the peace and deter Russia. In the worst case of a Russian attack, those soldiers would get involved in any future fighting.
“Ukraine has its vision of the deployment of such forces that will act as security guarantors. All these issues still need to be discussed, agreed upon, and verified at both the political and military levels,” Palisa said.
Ukraine also feels that any Western troops sent to Ukraine would be accompanied by extensive air defenses and other protection measures that will also help keep Ukrainians safe.
“For example, if a French brigade enters a certain area of territory, even if deployed with a minimum density — for example, three soldiers per kilometer — it will still have to provide air cover. This is a standard of military planning,” Palisa said. A brigade has from 3,000 to 5,000 troops.
And that means more air defense systems, electronic warfare capabilities, more coordinated interaction with aviation, protection for any foreign naval forces, reliable logistics and so on.
“This is a complex issue that requires careful planning, taking into account many factors. This is what is currently being worked on,” Palisa said.
A day after the coalition of the willing meeting, NATO hosts the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an American-created grouping to organize military aid for Ukraine. The U.K. and Germany will be chairing and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will join via teleconference.
Laura Kayali contributed to this report from Paris.
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