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6 January, 15:16
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UK, France pledge to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal with Russia is reached

The United Kingdom and France have signed a “Declaration of Intent” with Ukraine on sending troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal with Russia.

Under the agreement that has been under discussion for months, the UK, France and partners would be on the ground to set up “military hubs” across Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine’s armed forces would use the protective facilities to retain Ukraine’s defensive needs, Starmer said. The Prime Minister also hailed the progress on security guarantees but noted that “the hardest yards are still ahead.”

The agreement was reached during a security summit on Tuesday in Paris. During the summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany could deploy forces to Ukraine on neighbouring NATO’s country’s territory, stressing "I want to say for myself and also for the Federal Government that we are not fundamentally ruling anything out."

The summit was also attended by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, President Trump's adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Kushner described the agreement as a “real milestone”, adding that however, “peace would not be possible without the progress we made today.”

The pledged by the UK and France to stend troops to Ukraine could complicate the ongoing peace negotiations as Moscow has repeatedly ruled out an NATO presence in Ukraine after a possible deal.