Ukrainian President Zelenskyy meets British and French military leaders to explore forming a multinational force amid U.S. hesitation over security guarantees.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with senior military leaders from the United Kingdom and France in Kyiv to discuss the potential deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force in Ukraine, despite reservations from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding security guarantees.
Trump, who has advocated for a ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict, temporarily suspended military aid to Kyiv temporarily.
According to the U.K. Ministry of Defense, the discussions covered the structure, size, and composition of a prospective "reassurance force." Chief of Defense Staff Antony Radakin emphasized the U.K.’s intention to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian military, positioning it to effectively deter future Russian aggression.
Creating a force large enough to serve as a credible deterrent—potentially ranging between 10,000 to 30,000 troops—would represent a significant challenge for countries whose military capabilities were downsized following the Cold War but are now undergoing rearmament.
These preliminary discussions aim to prepare the agenda for an upcoming meeting of defense ministers in Brussels and a session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group scheduled for Friday.
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