Ukraine agrees to multi-tiered ceasefire enforcement plan with Europe and U.S., FT reports

Ukraine has agreed with Western partners on a plan under which repeated Russian violations of any future ceasefire would trigger swift, co-ordinated military responses by Europe and the United States, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The multi-tiered enforcement framework, discussed in December and January between Ukrainian, European and American officials, is intended to deter Russia from breaching a potential armistice, according to people briefed on the discussions.

Under the proposal, any Russian violation would prompt a response within 24 hours, starting with a diplomatic warning. If the breach continued, Ukrainian forces would be authorised to act to halt the violation, the newspaper said.

If hostilities persisted beyond that stage, a second phase would involve intervention by forces from the so-called “coalition of the willing”, which includes several European Union members as well as the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland and Türkiye.

In the event of a wider escalation, a co-ordinated response by a Western-backed force incorporating US military involvement would be triggered 72 hours after the initial breach, according to the report.

Envoys from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday for talks aimed at ending the war, the Financial Times said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

• Ukraine delegation heading to UAE for second round of peace talks, Zelenskyy says
• Kremlin says Ukraine–Russia–U.S. talks reset for 4–5 February as negotiations remain complex

Separately, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has arrived in Kyiv and is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Financial Times correspondent said in a post on X.

Rutte’s reported visit comes after Russia launched an overnight attack involving about 450 drones and more than 60 missiles.

Russia and Ukraine said last week they had halted strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, but disagreed on the timeframe for the truce.

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