Zelenskyy announces talks on deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine

He said this during a briefing on March 28.

“We have agreed to urgently hold a meeting in Ukraine — within a week — with a small group of representatives from the general staffs of key countries that are 100% ready to send a contingent to Ukrainian territory,” Zelenskyy said.

According to him, a triangle has currently been formed: Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom.

“This is, let’s say, the triangle in this matter. We will showcase our infrastructure, work with partners, and develop a shared vision. After that, we’ve agreed that there will be a follow-up meeting, no longer at the military level,” the president added.

He noted that over time, the list of countries involved in concrete discussions on this topic will expand.

Peacekeeping troops in Ukraine: what is known

At the end of January, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 200,000 peacekeepers would be needed to secure Ukraine after the cessation of hostilities. Later, the president clarified that the US military should be among the peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

On February 11, the NYT reported that Europe does not have 200,000 peacekeepers to send to Ukraine. This is almost three times the size of the entire British army. On the same day, Zelenskyy said that the mission would work if 100-150,000 European troops were deployed. 

According to the AP, a group of European countries is confidentially developing a plan to send troops to Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump supported the deployment of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, but noted that the United States would not participate. 

According to French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine, European countries are currently discussing only the possibility of sending their troops to Ukraine, not their number.

At the same time, the German concern Rheinmetall announced its readiness to arm peacekeepers in Ukraine.

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.

On March 21, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country could send peacekeepers to Ukraine only under the UN flag.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained why UN peacekeepers cannot replace the military contingent.