UK and France Will Dispatch Forces to Ukraine in the event that a Peace Deal is Finalized

The UK and France have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the positioning of military forces in the nation should a peace deal be made with Moscow, the British leader, Keir Starmer, has announced.

Following talks with allied nations in Paris, he noted that the allies would "establish defense centers throughout Ukraine and erect protected installations for military hardware and equipment" to discourage any potential incursion.

The partner countries also proposed that the United States would assume leadership in verifying a truce.

The Kremlin has on multiple occasions stated that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "valid objective", but has as yet not issued a statement on this recent declaration.

Background and Continuing Conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a major offensive of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to be alongside Ukraine for the long-term," stated Starmer.

National leaders and high-ranking officials from the "Partner Group" took part in Tuesday's talks.

Speaking at a joint press conference, he further said: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which British, French, and partner forces could function on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and restoring Ukraine's defense capabilities for the time to come."

The PM also stated that the UK would participate in any US-led verification of a prospective ceasefire.

Defense Assurances 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 central requirement made by Kyiv.

He indicated the allies had "substantially agreed on" their work on finalizing such assurances "so that the Ukrainian people know that when this war ends, it ends for good."

Jared Kushner, ex-President Donald Trump's representative, also participated in the talks.

Meanwhile, France's leader Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's allies had made "significant advances" at the talks.

He said that "comprehensive" defense assurances for Ukraine had been reached in the event of a possible truce.

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "major development" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only view efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the cessation of the conflict.

Recently, he suggested a peace agreement was "mostly finalized". Finalizing the last 10% would "decide the future of the peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Remaining Challenges

• Sovereign soil and defense assurances have been at the forefront of key disagreements for negotiators.
• The Russian President has often said that Kyiv's military must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, rejecting any concession over how to conclude the war.
• Kyiv has to date rejected surrendering any land, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could withdraw its forces to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russian forces currently controls approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the adjacent Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the area of Donbas.

The original US-led 28-point framework that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Ukraine and its partners in Europe as being heavily skewed in Moscow's favor.

This sparked weeks of intensive diplomacy – with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to adjust the draft.

Recently, The Ukrainian government submitted the US an updated framework – as well as additional documents describing possible security guarantees and plans for Ukraine's rebuilding, the President stated.