Von der Leyen: Europe has “pretty precise plan” for post-war troops in Ukraine

According to the Financial Times, she emphasized that these guarantees would have full U.S. support.

“Security guarantees are paramount and absolutely crucial. We have a clear road map and we had an agreement in the White House . . . and this work is going forward very well,” von der Leyen said.

She added that last week, the defense ministers of the Coalition of the Willing “worked out pretty precise plans” for sending troops to Ukraine, addressing “the necessary items for a functioning build-up of troops.”

“Of course, it always needs the political decision of the respective country, because deploying troops is one of the most important sovereign decisions of a nation. [But] the sense of urgency is very high . . . it’s moving forward. It’s really taking shape,” von der Leyen added.

She also stressed that the European Commission will explore opportunities to provide “sustainable financing of the Ukrainian armed forces as . . . a security guarantee.”

“[But] we have had in the last months several encounters where it was obvious that one can rely on the Europeans. It is clear that when we say something, we do it,” the politician said.

• Earlier reports indicated that, in the event of a possible peace agreement, 10 European countries have expressed readiness to send troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees.