The United Kingdom and France Will Dispatch Forces to the Country in the event that a Peace Deal is Reached

The UK and France have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of troops in Ukraine should a peace deal be struck with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has declared.

After negotiations with allied nations in Paris, he noted that the UK and France would "create military hubs across Ukraine and construct secure facilities for weapons and equipment" to discourage any potential invasion.

The coalition members also proposed that the America would take the lead in overseeing a truce.

Moscow has on multiple occasions cautioned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has so far not commented on this recent development.

Context and Ongoing War

The Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin initiated a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russia currently controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to stand with Ukraine for the duration," stated the UK Prime Minister.

Top officials and senior officials from the "Allied Coalition" participated in the Paris negotiations.

Addressing reporters at a joint press conference, he noted: "It creates the pathway for the legal framework under which allied and coalition forces could operate on the ground in Ukraine, protecting Ukraine's airspace and waters, and rebuilding Ukraine's defense capabilities for the time to come."

The UK prime minister added that Britain would take part in any American-headed verification of a possible truce.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Top Washington representative Steve Witkoff stated that "long-term defense assurances and strong reconstruction vows are essential to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a major demand made by Ukraine.

He noted the partner nations had "mostly completed" their work on agreeing such assurances "in order that the citizens of Ukraine know that when this conflict ends, it ends permanently."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, former American President Donald Trump's representative, also participated in the talks.

At the same time, President Macron Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's partners had made "considerable advances" at the talks.

He noted that "strong" security guarantees for the Ukrainian government had been reached in the event of a prospective ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "significant development" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only deem efforts to be "adequate" if they led to the end of the fighting.

Last week, he said a peace agreement was "90% ready". Settling the outstanding 10% would "decide the fate of the agreement, the destiny of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Land and security guarantees have been at the center of ongoing disputes for diplomats.
• Putin has often said that Kyiv's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, dismissing any middle ground over how to finish the war.
• The Ukrainian President has to date ruled out ceding any land, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia follows suit.

Russia presently holds approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the area of the Donbas.

The earlier US-led comprehensive framework that was circulated to the media last year was viewed by Kyiv and its partners in Europe as being heavily skewed in Russia's favor.

This led to weeks of focused negotiations – with the involved parties trying to revise the document.

Recently, Ukraine submitted the US an updated 20-point plan – as well as additional documents detailing prospective security guarantees and arrangements for Ukraine's rebuilding, Zelensky added.