Britain and France could send up to 15,000 troops to Ukraine after peace deal, - Times
The United Kingdom and France may send up to 15,000 soldiers to Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached.
This was reported by The Times, according to Censor.NET.
According to the publication, the British military leadership had previously proposed sending up to 10,000 troops as part of a broader "coalition of volunteers" totaling up to 64,000 people. At the same time, the UK Ministry of Defense deemed such plans unrealistic given the army's limited resources.
According to two military sources, London can actually deploy less than 7,500 troops. Even this figure is considered significant, given that Britain's regular army has about 71,000 trained soldiers.
France is currently the only country that has publicly declared its readiness to send troops directly to Ukraine. French units are expected to make up the bulk of the contingent and will be stationed in relatively safe western regions of the country, far from the front line.
Several sources at The Times suggest that even the figure of 15,000 troops is optimistic. In particular, Germany is only prepared to station its troops near Ukraine, for example, in Poland or Romania.
It is noted that the final size of the contingent will depend on the terms of the peace agreement. According to preliminary plans, British and French military personnel will assist in training the Ukrainian army and oversee the creation of facilities for storing weapons and equipment.
What is known?
- British Defense Minister John Gilley stated that he is not ready to name the number of troops that London could potentially send to Ukraine.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted that any deployment of British troops under the declaration signed with France and Ukraine would require parliamentary approval.
- Also, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" in Paris that Rome would not consider sending Italian troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees.
- Subsequently, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the possibility of deploying several thousand French troops to Ukraine after the ceasefire.
