The United Kingdom and France to Deploy Troops to Ukraine in the event that a Ceasefire Accord is Finalized

The British and French governments have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of troops in Ukraine if a peace deal be made with Russia, the Prime Minister of Britain, Starmer, has announced.

Following negotiations with Ukraine's allies in the French capital, he indicated that the allies would "establish defense centers in various parts of Ukraine and erect secure structures for military hardware and defense matériel" to prevent any future attack.

The coalition members also put forward that the US would play the primary role in overseeing a ceasefire.

Moscow has on multiple occasions cautioned that any external forces in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has as yet not commented on this new announcement.

The Situation and Continuing Hostilities

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russia presently holds about 20% of the country's land.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to be alongside Ukraine for the foreseeable future," commented the UK Prime Minister.

National leaders and high-ranking officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in the recent discussions.

Speaking at a combined announcement, the Prime Minister further said: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could function on the ground in Ukraine, defending Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and regenerating Ukraine's defense capabilities for the time to come."

The British leader also stated that the UK would be involved in any Washington-directed verification of a possible cessation of hostilities.

Protection Pledges and Negotiation Stances

Senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff said that "long-term safety pledges and substantial prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – mentioning a key condition made by Kyiv.

He said the allies had "substantially agreed on" their work on finalizing such assurances "in order that the people of Ukraine know that when this conflict ends, it ends permanently."

Jared Kushner, ex-President Donald Trump's representative, also took part in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, France's leader Emmanuel Macron declared that Ukraine's supporters had made "major advances" at the negotiations.

He added that "robust" security guarantees for the Ukrainian government had been settled upon in the case of a prospective truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "significant step forward" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "adequate" if they resulted in the end of the war.

Last week, he said a peace deal was "largely prepared". Settling the outstanding 10% would "shape the future of the peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Territory and defense assurances have been at the heart of ongoing disputes for diplomats.
• Putin has consistently stated that Ukraine's forces must withdraw from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.
• The Ukrainian President has to date rejected giving up any land, but has suggested that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia reciprocates.

Moscow currently occupies about 75% of the Donetsk region and some 99% of the bordering Luhansk. The two regions form the area of Donbas.

The original US-led comprehensive peace plan that was widely leaked to the media last year was viewed by Kyiv and its European allies as being heavily skewed in Moscow's favor.

This triggered a period of high-level negotiations – with all sides trying to revise the draft.

The previous month, Kyiv presented the US an new 20-point plan – as well as additional documents detailing possible defense assurances and provisions for Ukraine's rebuilding, the President added.