Bloomberg: EU seeks US consent to send American peacekeepers to Ukraine

Ukraineʼs European allies agree with President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs idea of deploying US peacekeepers in Ukraine as a security guarantee and are seeking corresponding commitments from the new White House administration.

Bloomberg writes about this, citing sources.

Kyivʼs European allies have said the United States may support the idea, despite initial reluctance from President Donald Trump. But they have stressed that it is too early to discuss in detail what a future peacekeeping force in Ukraine would look like.

The agencyʼs sources say that if European allies are forced to send troops on their own, this could undermine confidence in the guarantees and create a split in NATO, as it would mean the de facto end of transatlantic cooperation within the Alliance.

Trump’s skepticism about supporting Ukraine may have softened. According to a Western diplomat who has spoken to the president’s administration on the issue, his team has demonstrated a willingness to focus on providing security guarantees to Ukraine — something they say is inevitable.

However, in exchange for these commitments, Trump may expect Europe to shoulder a greater share of the burden of ensuring compliance with any potential agreement, Bloomberg writes.

The Trump team has also made it clear that the new US administration has no intention of directly engaging in Ukraine’s reconstruction, another senior diplomat said. That task will likely be entrusted to the private sector, but discussions are still ongoing.

• The issue of deploying a European contingent in Ukraine was first raised by French President Emmanuel Macron in February 2024. But the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated that when speaking about sending NATO troops to Ukraine, Macron meant training.
• In December, Radio Liberty reported that France and Britain were discussing deploying their troops on the contact line as a security guarantee.
• Reuters analysts and sources estimated the size of the probable contingent at between 40,000 and 100,000. The agency wrote that the bulk of the force could be from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK. According to the Financial Times, Ukraine is expecting 40,000-50,000 peacekeepers.

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