UK and France Will Dispatch Troops to Ukraine in the event that a Peace Deal is Reached

The London and Paris have signed a statement of purpose concerning the deployment of troops in Ukraine if a peace agreement be concluded with Moscow, the Prime Minister of Britain, Starmer, has declared.

After negotiations with Kyiv's partners in Paris, he indicated that the allies would "create military hubs across Ukraine and build protected facilities for arms and defense matériel" to prevent any potential attack.

The allied nations also proposed that the United States would assume leadership in verifying a ceasefire.

Moscow has consistently warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "acceptable aim", but has not yet commented on this new development.

The Situation and Ongoing Hostilities

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the start of last year, and Russian forces at this time holds roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our commitment to be alongside Ukraine for the duration," commented the British leader.

National leaders and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks.

Addressing reporters at a shared media briefing, Starmer added: "It paves the way for the legal framework under which allied and coalition forces could work on Ukraine's territory, protecting Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and restoring Ukraine's defense capabilities for the future."

The British leader added that Britain would be involved in any Washington-directed monitoring of a potential truce.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Senior American diplomat Steve Witkoff said that "long-term defense assurances and robust economic promises are critical to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – mentioning a major requirement made by Ukraine.

He indicated the partner nations had "largely finished" their work on agreeing such assurances "so that the Ukrainian people know that when this war ends, it ends forever."

The former US envoy, ex-President Donald Trump's representative, also took part in the negotiations.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's partners had made "major headway" at the meeting.

He noted that "robust" safety pledges for the Ukrainian government had been agreed in the event of a possible truce.

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "significant development" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only view efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.

Last week, the Ukrainian leader suggested a peace deal was "90% ready". Finalizing the remaining 10% would "decide the future of the agreement, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the heart of ongoing disputes for negotiators.
• Moscow has often said that Ukraine's forces must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any concession over how to conclude the war.
• Kyiv has so far excluded surrendering any land, but has proposed that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia reciprocates.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk oblast and some 99% of the adjacent Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the industrial region of Donbas.

The earlier US-led multi-point proposal that was widely leaked to the media last year was viewed by Kyiv and its European allies as being strongly biased in Russia's favor.

This led to weeks of high-level negotiations – with all sides trying to amend the draft.

Recently, The Ukrainian government presented the US an new 20-point plan – as well as distinct documents detailing prospective security guarantees and plans for Ukraine's rebuilding, the President said.