UK and France to Deploy Forces to the Country in the event that a Peace Deal is Agreed

The UK and France have formalized a statement of purpose concerning the deployment of armed personnel in Ukraine should a peace deal be concluded with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has declared.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in the French capital, he noted that the UK and France would "set up military hubs in various parts of Ukraine and construct secure installations for weapons and defense matériel" to prevent any potential attack.

The coalition members also suggested that the United States would play the primary role in monitoring a ceasefire.

The Kremlin has consistently stated that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has so far not commented on this new declaration.

Background and Ongoing Hostilities

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russia currently holds roughly 20% of the country's land.

"This is a vital part of our pledge to stand with Ukraine for the duration," remarked the UK Prime Minister.

Top officials and senior officials from the "Partner Group" participated in the recent discussions.

Speaking at a joint press conference, he further said: "It establishes the framework for the legal framework under which allied and coalition forces could operate on Ukraine's territory, defending Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and rebuilding Ukraine's armed forces for the years ahead."

The PM went on to say that London would take part in any Washington-directed verification of a potential ceasefire.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Senior American diplomat Steve Witkoff said that "long-term safety pledges and robust economic promises are critical to a permanent resolution" in Ukraine – alluding to a key condition made by the Ukrainian government.

He indicated the allies had "substantially agreed on" their work on agreeing such pledges "in order that the citizens of Ukraine know that when this hostilities ends, it ends forever."

The former US envoy, former American President Donald Trump's representative, also took part in the talks.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's partners had made "considerable progress" at the meeting.

He noted that "strong" security guarantees for Kyiv had been reached in the instance of a possible truce.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a "huge advance" had been made in the talks, but added that he would only deem efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the conclusion of the war.

Last week, he indicated a settlement was "mostly finalized". Settling the last 10% would "shape the future of the agreement, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the heart of key disagreements for diplomats.
• Putin has often said that Ukraine's forces must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, refusing any concession over how to conclude the war.
• Kyiv has thus far ruled out ceding any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russia presently occupies approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and some 99% of the adjacent Luhansk. The two regions form the area of the Donbas.

The earlier US-led multi-point proposal that was widely leaked to the media last year was viewed by Ukraine and its partners in Europe as being disproportionately favorable in Russia's favor.

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

Last month, Kyiv presented the US an new proposal – as well as additional documents describing possible security guarantees and arrangements for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky added.