Britain and France are reportedly planning to set up a European 'reassurance force' to ensure Russia does not attack Ukraine again if a ceasefire and peace deal is reached between Moscow and Kyiv.
However, Bloomberg on February 20 quoted Western officials as saying that the plan depends largely on whether US President Donald Trump agrees to provide the country's military forces, including aircraft and intelligence, to monitor Ukrainian airspace and the Black Sea.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Western officials say the plan would involve nearly 30,000 troops and would likely focus on air and naval defenses. Ground forces would be minimal and would not be deployed near the front line in eastern Ukraine. Britain and France are now trying to convince other European countries to provide personnel and equipment for the force. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to travel to the United States to meet President Trump next week to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
Commenting on the above idea, Reuters quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February 18 as saying that his country would not accept European troops participating in the peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
It is not yet clear whether Ukraine would support the peacekeeping force proposed by Britain and France. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously called for a deterrent force of 100,000 to 150,000 troops, with US participation.
Many challenges
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on February 12 that Washington would not send troops to Ukraine under any peace deal with Russia. According to The Kyiv Independent , the US ruled out sending troops to Ukraine and said Europe needed to take responsibility for security on the continent, stressing that European peacekeepers would not be protected by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) collective defense agreements if they were attacked.
German servicemen take part in the Quadriga 2024 military exercise in Pabrade, Lithuania on May 29, 2024.
In addition, since the dialogue between US and Russian officials on ending the conflict in Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on February 18, the Trump administration is said to want to quickly reach an agreement with Moscow, excluding European powers from the negotiations and putting pressure on Mr. Zelensky.
Reuters quoted an article posted on social media on February 19, Mr. Trump called Mr. Zelensky an "unelected dictator", accusing the Ukrainian leader of forcing the US to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in aid "to participate in a war that cannot be won". "Mr. Zelensky better act quickly, or he will no longer have a country", Mr. Trump wrote.
According to some observers, the above series of moves shows that the US may be willing to make significant concessions to the Kremlin in negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, while also causing further concern for European countries when there is little to prevent Russia from breaking the ceasefire after it rearmed.
In addition to the challenge of US approval, convincing all European countries to join the “reassurance force” has also proved difficult for Britain and France. Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland have all ruled out sending troops to Ukraine. Italian officials have expressed skepticism, while the German government has said it is too early to commit to sending troops to Ukraine.
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk Radio on February 19, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated: "I am a little annoyed that all these Europeans have thrown up their hands and are talking about what they are going to do. Who benefits from discussing the option of deploying troops to Ukraine at this time, when it is still unclear how peace will be achieved? Discussing it now only helps President Vladimir Putin's negotiating position."
“What’s missing here isn’t tanks and artillery, it’s political will,” said Ben Hodges, the former commander of the US Army in Europe. Hodges and many other analysts argue that before any operational strategy is put in place, Europe needs to answer a fundamental question: “Are you ready to go to war with Russia?”
Matthew Savill, director of military science at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI-UK), said the UK’s deployment of just 5,000 troops to Ukraine would depend on the army’s technical and support capabilities. However, this would consume a lot of British military resources.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/anh-phap-muon-lap-luc-luong-bao-ve-ukraine-se-nhieu-thach-thuc-185250220172150481.htm
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