Europe has changed its mind about sending peacekeepers to Ukraine and is considering other options
European countries began to look for alternative options for guaranteeing security for Ukraine, abandoning plans to send peacekeepers. This decision is due to political and logistical difficulties, as well as expected resistance from Russia and the USA. About this informs Reuters.
Although Britain and France have been working on a plan for weeks to deploy thousands of peacekeepers to Ukraine to support a possible ceasefire, diplomats say a growing number of negotiators believe such a scenario is unlikely.
“They are backing away from the idea of ground troops and are trying to readjust their plans to something more realistic.”, – said one of the European diplomats.
Another diplomat noted that under the conditions of a more favorable situation for Ukraine, such an initiative looked more attractive. However, given the current circumstances and policies of the current US administration, it no longer has widespread support.
At the same time, one of the high-ranking officials of the EU military command emphasized that the shift of focus from the idea of a peacekeeping mission does not mean the complete absence of the military presence of European countries in Ukraine. According to him, individual states can leave their military for training or other form of support.
Some European allies also express doubts about the feasibility of sending troops without clear guarantees from the US. They are concerned about the financial costs, limited human and technical resources, as well as the risk of being drawn into a direct conflict with Russia.
We will remind that during the last weeks, on the initiative of Great Britain and France, a “coalition of the willing” was formed – approximately 30 countries ready to join efforts to create a stable peace in Ukraine after the end of the war. However, the idea of sending a peacekeeping contingent, which had been actively discussed before, faced a number of logistical and political obstacles, including resistance from Russia and the United States.
