French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that a Franco-British mission will be sent to Ukraine to strengthen the Ukrainian army, according to BFMTV.
Macron stated that a “Franco-British team” would be deployed to Ukraine to help shape the “Ukrainian army of tomorrow.” The team would work closely with Ukraine to prepare all aspects of the future format of the Ukrainian army—its size, the number of soldiers, and the equipment it will use.
He also noted that work is ongoing regarding the potential deployment of so-called “deterrence forces” to Ukraine. These troops could serve as a deterrent in the event of a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Macron emphasized that these forces could come from “certain EU member states” and be stationed in “specific strategic locations” within Ukraine.
Macron said these deterrence forces would be sent to Ukraine once peace is established, with participation from several European nations, according to CGTN Français. The French president expressed hope for US support for this initiative but emphasized the need to prepare an alternative scenario without Washington’s involvement.
On 27 March, presidents of Ukraine, France, Lithuania, Finland, and Cyprus; the acting President of Romania; the Chancellor of Germany; and the Prime Ministers of the UK, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Sweden gathered on the summit in Paris.
The “Coalition of the Willing” consists of countries that pledge support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and contribute to establishing peace in Ukraine. Most of these nations have either expressed readiness to provide peacekeeping forces or at least considered the possibility.
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