Senior military leaders from the UK and French-led “coalition of the willing” have been preparing to gather in London.
Around 20 countries have sent senior military officers to the British capital to discuss constructing what on March 20 UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard called “a credible force that will allow Ukraine to enjoy a lasting peace'”.
The meeting was due despite Russia having said it would not tolerate the presence of any NATO members in Ukraine and the US has so far been reluctant to offer air cover.
Along with the possible peacekeeping force that could be deployed in Ukraine following a peace deal, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas was also preparing to discuss a possible UK-EU defence pact with Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the professional head of the British Armed Forces.
The UK would only be able to take part in the European Commission’s newly proposed arms purchasing arrangement if both sides agreed such a pact.
The European Commission’s proposed €150 billion loan scheme for military spending, outlined in a March 19 White Paper and called Security Action For Europe (SAFE), would exclude UK defence companies if the country did not sign up to the pact.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street has directed the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood to start developing plans for deploying personnel and resources to Ukraine.
It has also put UK military personnel on standby to ensure equipment was in good working order in advance of any notice to mobilise.
While Starmer initially proposed a UK-led peacekeeping force of 30,000 during a White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, the proposed force now appeared more likely to consist of around 10,000 troops.
It was likely, though, they would include a substantial component of UK Special Forces who could bring experience in intelligence and reconnaissance together with an ability to be deployed rapidly.
Kallas has proposed military support of up to €40 billion to back up a “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
While Kallas, Radakin and chief military officials were set to gather in London, the EU’s political leaders prepared to discuss EU military aid for Ukraine and possible rapid Ukrainian accession to the bloc at a summit meeting in Brussels.
Countries including Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland have each suggested they could possibly contribute peacekeepers but, without a peace deal in place, they said it was premature to debate the point.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has been sceptical, saying she was “still perplexed about the use of European troops” and preferred extending a NATO Article 5 security guarantee to Ukraine, despite the country not being a NATO member.
Regarding an EU peacekeeping force, Meloni told journalists recently: “I see this as a solution that risks proving very complicated and probably less decisive than others,” adding the “deployment of Italian troops has never been on the table at this stage”.
Polish PM Donald Tusk has said that, while his country would provide logistical and political support for a peacekeeping force, it would not contribute troops.
Poland was still burdened by its decision to accept two million refugees from Ukraine in the early weeks of the war with Russia, Tusk added.
Hungary’s EU affairs minister János Bóka has argued that instead of Ukraine representing Europe’s front line, it should instead act as a “buffer zone” between the European and Russian defence structures.
Other EU leaders appeared to be considering ways to sidestep Hungarian opposition to EU decisions that would require unanimity among member states.
A pivotal question mark lingered over Germany, with Christian Democratic Union leader and likely new chancellor Friedrich Merz in the process of forming a new government.
Outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously ruled out the participation of German soldiers in a peacekeeping force.
While any such force would rely on a peace deal, Kallas has cautioned against engaging in negotiations with Russia over a Ukraine settlement under which Moscow would benefit from invading the country.
On March 19, she stated that Moscow’s representatives “‘do not ask, but demand something that has never been theirs”, they “present ultimatums, you know, threaten” and they “do not give an inch in negotiations, because there will always be people in the West who would offer you something”.
