It’s up to Ukraine – not Russia – to decide whether it wants peacekeepers on its territory in the event of a ceasefire, the French president has said.
Emmanuel Macron, who has a leading role in attempts to build a coalition of countries willing to deploy troops in Ukraine, said several nations are interested in taking part.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of stationing NATO soldiers in Ukraine.
“Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not something for Russia to accept or not,” Macron said in an interview with several French regional newspapers.
He said any peacekeeping force would consist of “a few thousand troops per country” to be deployed at key locations.
As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a quick peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, around 25 Western governments – excluding the U.S. – met on Saturday in a virtual conference hosted by the U.K.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the meeting that countries involved were stepping up preparations to support Ukraine in case a peace deal was struck with Moscow.
Military chiefs from allied countries will meet this week to discuss potential operations in Ukraine, he added.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to back an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to pause the fighting. However, he has also set several conditions for any deal.
Ukraine has already signed up to a truce, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has questioned whether Putin really wants peace.
Meanwhile, fighting continued overnight as Russia and Ukraine launched aerial attacks on each other, leaving several people injured and infrastructure damaged.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 47 out of 90 drones that were launched. It said damage had been reported in four regions across the country, without providing further detail.
The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that its units destroyed a total of 31 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, reporting damage in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Rostov and Kursk regions.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of stationing NATO soldiers in Ukraine.
“Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not something for Russia to accept or not,” Macron said in an interview with several French regional newspapers.
He said any peacekeeping force would consist of “a few thousand troops per country” to be deployed at key locations.
As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a quick peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, around 25 Western governments – excluding the U.S. – met on Saturday in a virtual conference hosted by the U.K.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the meeting that countries involved were stepping up preparations to support Ukraine in case a peace deal was struck with Moscow.
Military chiefs from allied countries will meet this week to discuss potential operations in Ukraine, he added.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to back an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to pause the fighting. However, he has also set several conditions for any deal.
Ukraine has already signed up to a truce, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has questioned whether Putin really wants peace.
Meanwhile, fighting continued overnight as Russia and Ukraine launched aerial attacks on each other, leaving several people injured and infrastructure damaged.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 47 out of 90 drones that were launched. It said damage had been reported in four regions across the country, without providing further detail.
The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that its units destroyed a total of 31 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, reporting damage in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Rostov and Kursk regions.
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