Britain and France Will Dispatch Military Personnel to the Country in the event that a Peace Agreement is Agreed

The London and Paris have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the positioning of troops in Ukraine if a peace agreement be concluded with Russia, the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has declared.

After discussions with allied nations in Paris, he indicated that the two nations would "set up military hubs across Ukraine and build protected installations for weapons and defense matériel" to discourage any future invasion.

The partner countries also suggested that the US would take the lead in verifying a truce.

Moscow has on multiple occasions cautioned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has as yet not commented on this latest announcement.

Context and Continuing Conflict

The Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow at this time controls approximately 20% of the country's land.

"This represents an essential component of our commitment to be alongside Ukraine for the duration," commented the British leader.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Partner Group" were involved in Tuesday's talks.

Addressing reporters at a combined announcement, the Prime Minister further said: "It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could work on Ukrainian soil, protecting Ukraine's airspace and waters, and restoring Ukraine's military for the future."

The UK prime minister added that London would participate in any American-headed confirmation of a prospective ceasefire.

Security Guarantees and Negotiation Stances

Top Washington representative Steve Witkoff stated that "long-term security guarantees and substantial prosperity commitments are essential to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a major demand made by the Ukrainian government.

The negotiator said the partner nations had "largely finished" their work on finalizing such assurances "in order that the citizens of Ukraine know that when this war ends, it ends forever."

Jared Kushner, ex-President Donald Trump's representative, also participated in the negotiations.

At the same time, France's leader Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's partners had made "considerable progress" at the negotiations.

He noted that "strong" defense assurances for Ukraine had been agreed in the instance of a potential ceasefire.

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that a "major advance" had been made in the talks, but added that he would only deem efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the cessation of the conflict.

Last week, he indicated a settlement was "mostly finalized". Finalizing the remaining 10% would "shape the outcome of the agreement, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of key disagreements for negotiators.
• Moscow has consistently stated that Ukrainian troops must retreat from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, rejecting any middle ground over how to conclude the war.
• Zelensky has so far ruled out giving up any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia reciprocates.

Moscow presently holds approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and around 99% of the bordering Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the heartland of the Donbas.

The initial US-led multi-point proposal that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its EU supporters as being strongly biased in Moscow's favor.

This sparked weeks of intensive negotiations – with all sides trying to revise the proposal.

The previous month, Ukraine presented the US an new proposal – as well as separate documents describing potential defense assurances and arrangements for Ukraine's recovery, Zelensky added.