Poland rules out possibility of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine

Polish Defense Minister Vladyslav Kosiniak-Kamysh said on January 12 that the state rules out the possibility of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine.

"When there is a peace plan, we will discuss it, but the border states are not the ones who should appear with their troops in Ukraine in any way, because I think there should be more burden sharing and diversification within NATO," he said in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times (FT).

According to the newspaper, despite the stance of Ukraine's staunch ally, relations between Kiev and Warsaw have escalated over historical grievances, cheap exports of Ukrainian farms, and growing discontent with Ukrainian refugees.

In the same interview, the defense minister said that Polish society is feeling fatigued by the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, this is especially noticeable when the population observes young Ukrainians "who drive the latest models of cars or stay in five-star hotels."

The day before, German foreign and security policy expert Christian Mölling reported on Western plans to send soldiers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow. He added that the defense ministries of various countries are already discussing scenarios "so that options can be outlined to politicians."

Reuters reported on December 18, 2024, that European leaders were discussing sending 100,000 military personnel to Ukraine in case of a cease-fire and the signing of a peace agreement. The next day, on December 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his powers expired on May 20 of the same year) said that during a meeting with French leader Emmanuel Macron he had discussed Paris's initiative to deploy foreign troops on the country's territory.

In her turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry's official representative, Maria Zakharova, responding to Izvestiya's question on December 25, pointed out that the reports about sending EU troops to Ukraine were aimed at aggravating the conflict. The diplomat noted that all the throws were an attempt by Western supporters of the conflict to drown out the growing voices in favor of peace talks.

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