European troops could be deployed to Ukraine under a potential ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald Trump, according to report on efforts to end the bloodshed following Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin and the State Department for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Russia has issued stern warnings to NATO allies who are considering sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Washington and Moscow.
What T o Know
As Trump works on securing a deal between Russia and Ukraine to bring the conflict to an end, a senior administration official told The New York Post that terms of his proposal could include deploying European forces to Ukraine.
“The hard part is what does a security force look like—we’re calling that a ‘resiliency force,'” the official said. “The resiliency force is part of the security guarantees that the Ukrainians want and we hope they get.”
There may also be a separate peacekeeping force to monitor a potential ceasefire which could be made up of a “joint commission” of Russians, Ukrainians and a third, non-NATO country, the official said.
EU, NATO, and non-NATO allies have said they are considering sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv. A “coalition of the willing” led by the U.K. and France—which so far consists of about 15 countries—has proposed deploying troops to contribute to a “reassurance force.”
While the force would not enter Ukraine until after an agreement is reached, Russia has made it clear that it will not tolerate any Western military presence on Ukrainian soil. Western leaders, however, argue that such a deployment would bolster European security and help deter future Russian aggression.
The official’s NYT remarks come as Trump said Sunday that he hopes Russia and Ukraine will agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of the week.
“BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Russian officials have warned Ukraine’s Western allies against deploying forces to the country.
What People Are Saying
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said on X (formerly Twitter) on April 17: “Apparently, the top of Ukraine’s fascist clique have come to Paris for talks with the U.K, Germany and France on how many European coffins they will be ready to accept after the deployment of the troops of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in Ukraine.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russian newspaper Izvestia in March that deploying troops to Ukraine would be “absolutely inappropriate and absurd.”
“We absolutely do not care under what label NATO contingents can be deployed on the territory of Ukraine: be it the European Union, NATO, or in their national capacity. In any case, if they appear there, it means that they are deployed in a conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
What Happens Next
The U.S. will be holding talks with Ukrainian and European officials in London on Wednesday to discuss a deal to halt the conflict, according to Bloomberg.
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