France’s Macron says not all European allies agree on troops for Ukraine

Ukraine’s European allies did not all agree on Thursday on the proposed deployment of troops in the country to back up an eventual peace deal and only some want to take part, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday. “It is not unanimous,” he said after wrapping up a summit on strengthening Kyiv’s hand and its military as it pushes for a ceasefire with Moscow. “We do not need unanimity to achieve it.” Macron said France and Britain, which are driving the initiative, would forge ahead with a “reassurance force” with several countries. The summit hosting the leaders of nearly 30 countries plus Nato and European Union chiefs comes at a crucial juncture in the more than three-year war, with intensifying diplomatic efforts to broker ceasefires, driven by pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the fighting. But the conflict is raging on. Before the leaders met in the luxury of the French presidential palace, Russian drone attacks overnight wounded more than 20 people and heavy shelling on Thursday afternoon killed one person and knocked out electricity in parts of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said. US-brokered agreements this week to safeguard shipping in the Black Sea and last week to halt long-range strikes on energy infrastructure were greeted as a first step toward peace. But Ukraine and Russia have disagreed over the details and accused each other of deal violations, foreshadowing a long and contentious process ahead. Europe mulls boots on the ground France and Britain are pushing a separate initiative to build a coalition of nations willing in one way or another to support the deployment of a European armed force in Ukraine, with the aim of securing any peace deal by dissuading Russia from attacking the country again. Some European countries are more comfortable with a potential deployment than others – not least because a big unknown is whether Trump would allow American forces and intelligence agencies to back up any European contingent with air and logistical support and other help. Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent – UK officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops – would also be a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming. There would also be questions to resolve about who would command the force and how it might respond to a major violation by Russia of any peace agreement. The office of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who’s driving the European initiative together with Macron, said that military planners from Europe and beyond have been drilling down into details of how such a force might be put together, examining “the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics”. A litmus test for Europe In the face of enduring pressure from Trump on European nations to increase military spending and rely less on US forces, dating back to his first presidency, the proposed contingent is also seen as a test of Europe’s ability to defend itself and its interests. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image from inside the summit of him and other leaders standing together with the caption: “Europe knows how to defend itself. We must prove it.” Macron said on Wednesday that the proposed European force could deploy to “important towns, strategic bases” in Ukraine and that it could “respond” to a Russian attack if Moscow launched one. Macron did not specify what sort of response he envisaged. But he suggested that a Russian attack might not go unanswered, even though the European troops wouldn’t be deployed to the front lines. “If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would, in fact, be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” Macron said. “Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it. “So we are not on the front lines, we don’t go to fight, but we are there to guarantee a lasting peace. It’s a pacifist approach,” he said. “The only ones who would, at that moment, trigger a conflict, a bellicose situation, would be the Russians if they decided again to launch an aggression.” How Russian sanctions could affect a ceasefire The meeting in Paris came as Russia has demanded lifting sanctions to meet its terms for the Black Sea ceasefire. Sanctions imposed by the US and Europe have punished Russia’s economy and limited its access to global markets. Zelensky accused Moscow of attempting to add conditions to what should be an unconditional agreement. While the White House said that it would help restore Russia’s access to the world market for fertiliser and farm exports, it did not validate Moscow’s conditions. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia’s demands would be evaluated and presented to Trump. There has been a growing chorus of opposition in Europe to lifting the sanctions, which remain their main leverage against Moscow. António Costa, the president of the European Council representing the EU’s 27 member states, said that sanctions are crucial to support Ukraine and reach a lasting peace. “This means keeping up the pressure on Russia through sanctions,” Costa said Thursday. More aid and more attacks As ceasefire efforts gather steam, Ukraine’s allies in Europe are working to strengthen Kyiv’s hand militarily. Their aim is to enable it to keep fighting until any broad peace takes hold and also to turn the Ukrainian army into the first line of defence against any future Russian aggression. Macron announced a new package of defence aid for Ukraine that he said was worth €2 billion (US$2.15 billion) and will include light tanks, air defence and anti-tank missiles and other weaponry and support. Russian drone attacks overnight wounded at least 18 people in the Kharkiv region and three people in Dnipro, officials said. Shelling in a front-line community in the Zaporizhzhia region knocked out electricity and phone coverage, regional head Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram. Zelensky said the attacks were further evidence that the US and Europe shouldn’t ease sanctions on Moscow. “Russia is killing every day and prolonging this war,” Zelensky said on social media. “The American proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table for half a month now.” Separately, the Ukrainian Army General Staff said that its attack at Engels military airfield in Russia on March 20 had destroyed 96 air-to-air cruise missiles and significant reserves of aviation fuel. Satellite imagery taken the next day by Maxar Technologies appeared to show damage to ammunition and weapons storage at Engels, the main base for Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers.

France’s Macron says not all European allies agree on troops for Ukraine

France and Britain, which are driving the initiative, would forge ahead with a ‘reassurance force’ with several countries