Analytics

Paris proposes peacekeepers behind the front line: what will it give to Ukraine?

ANALYSIS

the “emergency meeting of the leaders of the leading European countries” in Paris did not bring tangible results. Even French President Emmanuel Macron ‘s openly compromise and not very substantive proposal to deploy European peacekeeping forces behind the future demarcation line in Ukraine did not find support. The initiative was supported by the United Kingdom and Sweden, but Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland opposed sending their troops even to the Ukrainian rear, even under a ceasefire. These disagreements, however, did not prevent NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte from declaring Europe’s readiness to lead security guarantees for Kyiv.

Komersant ukrainskyi asked Ukrainian political and military experts how they assess this idea. Why do we need peacekeepers who are not located where the fighting is going on?

Political scientist Ihor Reiterovych notes that this was actually the first attempt to form a common position on this issue, so the meeting could not have resulted in any tangible results.

“It is clear that this requires more time and the involvement of more European countries. But it is good that they talked and discussed certain issues. The story with the deployment of the military will directly depend on how the negotiations between the US and Russia go. If the United States supports this thesis and promotes it, I think that the position of European countries will change in this regard,”

– says the expert in an exclusive commentary .

According to Reuters, European states are now more likely to send Trump a signal that they want to be involved in his “peace process.” However, this requires more specifics and an understanding of the scale of military presence.

“Deployment behind the front line is unlikely to lead to the result that everyone expects. However, Russia is already categorically opposed to this idea. And this suggests that, in fact, it has the right to exist, it should be promoted further,”

– adds the political scientist.

Military expert Dmytro Snegirev is more critical of the initiative. He believes that there is no point in deploying peacekeepers beyond the contact line.

“The main function of peacekeepers is determined depending on the mandate of the peacekeeping mission. Either it is peacekeeping, in which case they stand between the two warring parties, and each side understands the rules of behavior. Or it is peace enforcement, in which case peacekeepers take an active part in hostilities. In our case, we are offered to deploy military contingents, relatively speaking, somewhere in Poltava,”

– explains the expert exclusively for .

In addition, he argues, the figures mentioned by our European partners – up to 30 thousand peacekeepers – are simply ridiculous given the scale of the frontline. The combat line is about 1,200 kilometers long. Even according to the very moderate estimates of the Ukrainian president, up to 100,000 troops are needed, Snegiryov says.

However, this idea should not be completely rejected, he adds.

“We need to create diplomatic belts directly for our European partners. “Please, we are ready to talk. 30,000 satisfies us, give us 30,000.” This will be both military and informational pressure on Russia. We must use even this moderate version of security guarantees,”

– emphasizes the expert.

However, there is also an important legal aspect that is not yet being discussed in European capitals, but which may become an obstacle to such steps when it comes to the matter.

“Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine prohibits the deployment of foreign military bases on the territory of the country. That is, in order to demand the military presence of foreign countries, we need to take steps towards them, namely to change the current Constitution. And this will be a political signal to both our partners and, accordingly, Russia that we are really ready to deploy a military contingent as a guarantor of security for the future,”

– emphasizes Dmytro Snegiryov.

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Security of Ukraine and Europe

The Munich Security Conference 2025 came as a real shock to many and a cold shower to European politicians after the US representatives voiced their vision of the future security model in Europe and the world. In particular, US Vice President Jay DeVance ‘s speech was about Europe no longer relying on the US security umbrella, as the US will no longer guarantee it. The Europeans were also told that Ukraine’s security after the truce with Russia will also be on their shoulders, as it concerns European affairs, from which the United States is withdrawing.

And now the United States does not even “physically” see Europe at the table with Russia.

Against this backdrop, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of the European Armed Forces. This idea has already been quickly rejected in Poland.

Europeans were shocked by this turn from the United States. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first to recover, saying that his country “can and will” send its contingent to Ukraine as a peacekeeper if a truce with Russia is concluded.

on February 17, French President Emmanuel Macron urgently convened the heads of “leading European states” to form a common position on this issue. However, it was not achieved. As it turned out, Britain, France, and Sweden are in favor of sending peacekeeping contingents to Ukraine, while Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain are against it.