Britain and France to Deploy Forces to the Country in the event that a Peace Agreement is Reached

The UK and France have formalized a memorandum of understanding concerning the stationing of military forces in Ukraine should a peace agreement be struck with Moscow, the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has stated.

After negotiations with allied nations in the French capital, he noted that the two nations would "establish operational bases across Ukraine and erect fortified structures for arms and equipment" to prevent any potential attack.

The coalition members also put forward that the United States would take the lead in monitoring a halt in hostilities.

Russia has consistently warned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has not yet commented on this latest declaration.

Background and Ongoing Conflict

The Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russian forces presently occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

"This is a vital part of our pledge to support Ukraine for the duration," stated the British leader.

Heads of state and senior officials from the "Partner Group" participated in Tuesday's talks.

Addressing reporters at a shared media briefing, the Prime Minister added: "It creates the pathway for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could function on Ukraine's territory, protecting Ukraine's airspace and waters, and restoring Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

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

Protection Pledges and Diplomatic Positions

Senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff stated that "lasting defense assurances and substantial economic promises are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – mentioning a central demand made by the Ukrainian government.

The negotiator noted the allies had "largely finished" their work on establishing such pledges "to ensure the people of Ukraine know that when this war ends, it ends for good."

Jared Kushner, former American President Donald Trump's advisor, also participated in the talks.

At the same time, France's leader Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's allies had made "significant advances" at the meeting.

He added that "robust" defense assurances for Kyiv had been reached in the instance of a possible truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "significant development" had been made in the talks, but qualified that he would only deem efforts to be "sufficient" if they led to the conclusion of the fighting.

Recently, he suggested a peace agreement was "largely prepared". Agreeing on the remaining 10% would "decide the fate of the agreement, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Remaining Challenges

• Territory and defense assurances have been at the center of unresolved issues for negotiators.
• Putin has often said that Ukraine's forces must retreat from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will take control, rejecting any middle ground over how to end the war.
• The Ukrainian President has thus far excluded ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could move its forces to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia follows suit.

Moscow currently holds about 75% of the Donetsk region and some 99% of the adjacent Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the area of the Donbas.

The original US-led multi-point peace plan that was extensively reported to the media last year was viewed by Ukraine and its EU supporters as being heavily skewed in Moscow's favor.

This sparked a period of high-level discussions – with the involved parties trying to amend the document.

The previous month, Kyiv submitted the US an revised framework – as well as separate documents detailing prospective defense assurances and arrangements for Ukraine's recovery, the President added.