Kosachev says Trump intends to push for EU troop deployment in Ukraine

US President-elect Donald Trump intends to push ahead with plans to deploy European military contingents in Ukraine in order to shift costs from the conflict to Europe. This was announced on December 17 by the Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev.

"Trump's position is known, it was the same during his previous presidency - to transfer a significant part of the burden of US spending to allies in Europe. And here I do not doubt for a second that Trump, as a man who knows the price of money, will definitely pursue this line very rigidly. And within NATO, within the EU, I'm sure there will be very different points of view on this issue," RIA Novosti quoted Kosachev as saying.

According to Kosachev, the European Union (EU) may favor the idea of deploying its military in Ukraine. They may take such a step even to the detriment of their own interests.

As the WSJ newspaper reported on December 12, Trump proposed to deploy EU troops in Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire. It was noted that Trump believes that Europe should take the main role in providing security and support for Ukraine, and the United States can support this process, but does not plan to send its troops.

Earlier in the day, the Polish Foreign Ministry told about the refusal to send troops to Ukraine. At the same time, it noted that Poland would continue to help Ukraine by supplying military equipment and weapons.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.