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

The London and Paris have inked a memorandum of understanding concerning the deployment of military forces in the nation in the event a peace agreement be made with Moscow, the British leader, Keir Starmer, has announced.

Following discussions with allied nations in Paris, he noted that the UK and France would "create operational bases across Ukraine and erect secure structures for arms and military equipment" to discourage any subsequent attack.

The partner countries also proposed that the US would play the primary role in overseeing a ceasefire.

The Kremlin has on multiple occasions stated that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "legitimate target", but has as yet not issued a statement on this new declaration.

Background and Ongoing Conflict

The Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin launched a major offensive of Ukraine in the start of last year, and Russia currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This is a vital part of our vow to support Ukraine for the foreseeable future," stated the UK Prime Minister.

National leaders and senior officials from the "Partner Group" took part in Tuesday's talks.

He stated at a shared media briefing, the Prime Minister further said: "It paves the way for the operational parameters under which allied and coalition forces could function on Ukraine's territory, defending Ukraine's airspace and waters, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the years ahead."

The UK prime minister added that the UK would take part in any US-led confirmation of a possible truce.

Security Guarantees and Diplomatic Positions

Top American diplomat Steve Witkoff said that "durable safety pledges and substantial prosperity commitments are essential to a permanent resolution" in Ukraine – mentioning a central condition made by Ukraine.

He noted the partner nations had "mostly completed" their work on finalizing such pledges "so that the people of Ukraine know that when this war ends, it ends for good."

The former US envoy, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, also took part in the discussions.

Separately, President Macron Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's allies had made "significant headway" at the meeting.

He said that "strong" defense assurances for the Ukrainian government had been settled upon in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "major step forward" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only deem efforts to be "enough" if they culminated in the end of the fighting.

Earlier, the Ukrainian leader suggested a settlement was "mostly finalized". Settling the remaining 10% would "determine the outcome of the agreement, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Unresolved Issues

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of key disagreements for negotiators.
• Moscow has often said that Ukraine's forces must pull back from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.
• Kyiv has to date rejected surrendering any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could withdraw its forces to an designated point – but only if Russia reciprocates.

Russian forces currently occupies approximately 75% of the Donetsk region and some 99% of the bordering Luhansk region. The two regions form the industrial region of the Donbas.

The earlier US-led 28-point peace plan that was circulated to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its EU supporters as being strongly biased in Moscow's favor.

This sparked a period of intensive negotiations – with all sides trying to revise the draft.

The previous month, Ukraine submitted the US an updated 20-point plan – as well as distinct documents outlining possible defense assurances and plans for Ukraine's rebuilding, he said.