Britain and France Will Dispatch Forces to the Country if a Peace Deal is Finalized

The London and Paris have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the positioning of military forces in Ukraine should a peace agreement be struck with Russia, the Prime Minister of Britain, Keir Starmer, has announced.

Following talks with Kyiv's partners in the French capital, he said that the UK and France would "set up defense centers throughout Ukraine and build protected structures for arms and equipment" to deter any subsequent attack.

The partner countries also put forward that the United States would play the primary role in monitoring a halt in hostilities.

Moscow has on multiple occasions stated that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has so far not responded on this recent declaration.

The Situation and Continuing War

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin began a comprehensive attack of Ukraine in the start of last year, and Russian forces at this time occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to support Ukraine for the foreseeable future," remarked the British leader.

Top officials and high-ranking officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in the Paris negotiations.

Addressing reporters at a joint press conference, he noted: "It creates the pathway for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could work on Ukrainian soil, protecting Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's defense capabilities for the time to come."

The PM added that Britain would take part in any Washington-directed verification of a possible truce.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Lead American diplomat Steve Witkoff stated that "lasting defense assurances and robust reconstruction vows are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine – mentioning a central requirement made by the Ukrainian government.

He indicated the partner nations had "mostly completed" their work on finalizing such pledges "to ensure the Ukrainian people know that when this hostilities ends, it ends for good."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, ex-President Donald Trump's advisor, also was involved in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, France's leader Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's allies had made "major progress" at the meeting.

He said that "strong" safety pledges for Ukraine had been settled upon in the case of a possible truce.

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "significant development" had been made in the negotiations, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they culminated in the cessation of the war.

Last week, Zelensky indicated a peace deal was "largely prepared". Finalizing the remaining 10% would "shape the fate of the agreement, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Sovereign soil and defense assurances have been at the forefront of ongoing disputes for diplomats.
• Putin has consistently stated that Kyiv's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will take control, dismissing any middle ground over how to finish the war.
• Kyiv has to date excluded ceding any land, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could pull back its forces to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Russia presently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the industrial region of the Donbas.

The original US-led 28-point peace plan that was widely leaked to the media last year was seen by Ukraine and its partners in Europe as being disproportionately favorable in Russia's direction.

This triggered weeks of intensive discussions – with all sides trying to adjust the draft.

Recently, Kyiv submitted the US an new framework – as well as additional documents describing possible security guarantees and plans for Ukraine's recovery, the President added.