UK and France Will Dispatch Forces to the Country if a Peace Deal is Agreed

The London and Paris have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the deployment of armed personnel in Ukraine should a peace agreement be made with Russia, the UK Prime Minister, Starmer, has declared.

Following negotiations with Kyiv's partners in Paris, he said that the UK and France would "create operational bases in various parts of Ukraine and erect secure installations for military hardware and equipment" to deter any potential invasion.

The partner countries also proposed that the United States would assume leadership in overseeing a ceasefire.

The Kremlin has consistently warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has as yet not commented on this recent declaration.

Background and Ongoing War

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin launched a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in the start of last year, and Russia presently occupies about 20% of the country's land.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our vow to support Ukraine for the duration," remarked Starmer.

Heads of state and senior officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" were involved in Tuesday's talks.

Speaking at a combined announcement, he noted: "It establishes the framework for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could work on Ukrainian soil, defending Ukraine's airspace and waters, and regenerating Ukraine's military for the future."

The PM added that the UK would participate in any American-headed confirmation of a potential cessation of hostilities.

Protection Pledges and Diplomatic Positions

Top Washington representative Steve Witkoff remarked that "durable safety pledges and strong reconstruction vows are vital to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a key requirement made by Ukraine.

Witkoff indicated the coalition had "largely finished" their work on establishing such guarantees "to ensure the people of Ukraine know that when this conflict ends, it ends forever."

The former US envoy, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, also participated in the discussions.

Meanwhile, President Macron Emmanuel Macron declared that Ukraine's allies had made "considerable headway" at the talks.

He added that "strong" safety pledges for Kyiv had been settled upon in the case of a possible ceasefire.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "huge advance" had been made in the talks, but cautioned that he would only deem efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the conclusion of the war.

Earlier, the Ukrainian leader suggested a peace deal was "mostly finalized". Settling the last 10% would "shape the fate of peace, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Land and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for the parties involved.
• Moscow has consistently stated that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, dismissing any compromise over how to conclude the war.
• The Ukrainian President has thus far excluded ceding any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could move its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russia currently holds approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and some 99% of the adjacent Luhansk. The areas form the industrial region of the Donbas.

The initial US-led 28-point framework that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its EU supporters as being heavily skewed in Russia's favor.

This led to a period of high-level discussions – with all sides trying to amend the draft.

Recently, The Ukrainian government submitted the US an new framework – as well as separate documents outlining prospective security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's rebuilding, he added.