European nations are discussing sending troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or a peace deal, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has made clear he will not put American boots on the ground to guarantee security, officials and diplomats say.
The talks, driven by French President Emmanuel Macron, are at an early stage, but they have already revealed splits over such a mission’s possible aims and mandate – and even the wisdom of broaching the issue now.
With Kyiv on the back foot in the war, European leaders want to avoid giving Russian President Vladimir Putin the impression they believe the time has come for talks and that he will get to keep his battlefield gains. They insist they are focused on boosting military and economic aid for Ukraine and see no sign Putin is ready to negotiate.
Yet behind the scenes, some officials are considering how European nations might provide security guarantees for Ukraine, including through a force of tens of thousands of soldiers on Ukrainian soil.
Such a force would raise the risk of a direct confrontation with Russia and stretch European militaries, whose arms stocks have been depleted by donations to Ukraine and who are used to relying heavily on U.S. support for major missions.
But Trump ruled out U.S. troops playing a part in enforcing a ceasefire and insisted Europeans would need to play this role alone in talks with Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris on Dec. 7, according to two sources.
That could mean Europeans deploying to Ukraine, whether Kyiv gets a security guarantee through joining NATO – as it hopes – or via bilateral assurances.
“Even if there were a NATO security guarantee, where would the impetus on the ground come from? It would be European so our army chiefs are already preparing plans for European leaders to consider in the future,” a senior European official said.
Major European powers such as France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Britain could form the bulk of the force, officials say.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
