WP: Europe may send up to 30 000 troops to Ukraine as a deterrent force

European countries are considering sending tens of thousands of military personnel to Ukraine to deter Russian aggression.

This is reported by The Washington Post.

According to the publication, the partners are developing a strategy for sending troops to Ukraine within the framework of the ceasefire agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a meeting of European leaders in Paris on February 17. There, they will discuss more specific plans to support Kyiv and try to reach an agreement on the deployment of the army, WP adds.

Despite Washington ruling out the possibility of deploying American troops to Ukraine, the Trump team appears to be open to the prospect of supporting European forces. European officials want to know what exactly they are prepared to offer them.

The countriesʼ requests relate, in particular, to intelligence capabilities and air cover or assistance with air defense equipment, informed sources tell The Washington Post.

The plans also call for a deterrent force — several brigades of 25 000 to 30 000 troops. The European troops would not be stationed along the front line, but would be “ready to show force” if Russia attacked again. These units could be reinforced and bolstered if needed.

France is further along in its planning. It is estimated that it could commit around 10,000 soldiers. Other allies, sources say, are still uncertain on the issue or are struggling due to limited military resources.

Europeʼs participation in the settlement of the war in Ukraine

After US President Donald Trump reported that during a phone call with Putin they agreed to immediately begin peace talks, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, and the European Union stressed in a statement that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.

During the Munich Security Conference, Trumpʼs special envoy Keith Kellogg said that Europe would not be physically at the negotiating table between Russia and Ukraine, but its interests would be taken into account. He added that one of the reasons why previous peace talks failed was that they involved too many countries.

The Axios publication, which revealed the details of the conversation between Zelensky and Trump, noted that the US president supported the idea of deploying European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine — this could become one of the security guarantees.

After that, the AP wrote that a group of European countries were privately working on a plan to send troops to Ukraine to help with post-war security.

The FT noted that the US has asked European countries to provide detailed proposals for the weapons, peacekeeping troops and security measures they could provide to Ukraine as part of any security guarantees. The United States wants to calculate Europeʼs willingness to defend Ukraine after a peaceful settlement, to determine the price Europe is willing to pay in exchange for participating in negotiations with Moscow.

A summit of European leaders will take place in Paris on Monday, February 17, convened by French President Emmanuel Macron. The British Prime Minister will also be there.

As The Guardian noted, the British Prime Minister is expected to later convey the messages from the meeting to US President Donald Trump, with whom he is also scheduled to meet in Washington within the week.

It was not officially announced who would participate in the summit, but the media reported that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Germany, Italy, and Poland were also expected to participate.

The discussion about the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine began in early 2024, after statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. In February, he said that in the future, sending troops from NATO countries to Ukraine should not be ruled out. And in June, a number of media outlets, citing sources, wrote that Macron was looking for allies to send instructors to Ukraine and wanted to create a coalition. The EU did not officially support this idea.

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