Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has said that Russia will have no say in whether foreign troops are deployed to Ukraine to ensure a future ceasefire.

France, Britain, and other Nato countries, including Turkey, have expressed their willingness to contribute to a peacekeeping force to protect peace in post-war Ukraine.

“If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not,” the Mr Marcon told local press late on Saturday, ahead of another heavy round of aerial attacks between Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of Nato soldiers being stationed in Ukraine, saying such a move would be a major escalation.

Mr Macron clarified that any peacekeeping force would consist of “a few thousand troops per country,” to be deployed at important locations. He added that a number of European and non-European countries were interested in participating.