
UK considering five-year troop deployment in Ukraine
The UK military leadership is planning to bolster Kyiv’s forces amid fears of a renewed Russian invasion. One option under consideration is deploying British troops to Ukraine for up to five years
The Telegraph reports.
“Military chiefs want the deployment to help train and reconstitute the Ukrainian army to prevent Vladimir Putin from mounting another invasion,” the article says.
The phased withdrawal plan was disrupted during talks between the UK and France on a “coalition of the willing” to support any post-conflict peace agreement.
Under the plan, Europe-led forces would be deployed to Ukraine to initially deter Russia from violating any agreement and give Ukrainians a breather. Troops led by the UK and France would also help protect Ukraine’s airspace and waters.
But the main purpose of the deployment would be to immediately begin helping to train and rebuild Ukraine's armed forces to deter another Russian attack. Later, they would withdraw in stages, with the last European troops leaving Ukraine in about five years, The Telegraph explains.
This would put the UK, France, and their Western allies in a race to rebuild and strengthen the Ukrainian army before Moscow is ready to wage a full-scale war again. British, Danish, and German intelligence chiefs believe that Putin could be ready for war in as little as five years.
Peacekeeping forces in Ukraine: what’s known
At the end of January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that at least 200,000 peacekeepers would be needed to ensure Ukraine’s security after the cessation of hostilities. Later, he clarified that U.S. troops should be included in the peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
On February 11, The New York Times reported that Europe does not have 200,000 peacekeepers available to send to Ukraine — this number is nearly three times the size of the entire British army. On the same day, Zelenskyy stated that the mission could operate if 100,000–150,000 European troops were deployed.
According to The Associated Press, a group of European countries is secretly developing a plan to send troops to Ukraine. Previously, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that international partners were already working on the idea of a peacekeeping mission.
U.S. President Donald Trump supported the deployment of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine but noted that the U.S. would not participate.
The Rheinmetall concern is ready to offer its products to support an international peacekeeping mission after the full-scale war in Ukraine ends.
On March 16, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that the Kremlin would take the deployment of Western peacekeepers to Ukraine as a declaration of war with NATO.
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