Zelensky and Macron discuss deployment of Western troops in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expire on May 20, 2024, and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed an initiative to station Western military units in Ukraine during a phone call on January 13.

"I spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron <...> We discussed the French initiative to station military contingents in Ukraine. We discussed practical steps for its implementation, potential expansion and involvement of other countries," Zelensky said in a post on social network X (former Twitter).

Also, the Ukrainian president said about the agreement of close cooperation in the development of effective guarantees of security of Ukraine.

Ukraine will not cope without US support. What the media say

Earlier, on January 12, former British defense ministers Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson advocated sending British peacekeepers to Ukraine. As Shapps noted, sending peacekeepers is only a small part of what Ukraine needs. In addition, he added that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has traveled anywhere but Kiev in the six months since his election.

On January 10, it became known that Starmer would soon visit Ukraine to discuss the deployment of peacekeeping forces there after the end of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, 2024, added that the initiative to send peacekeepers to Ukraine was put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Before that, on December 5, 2024, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that a German peacekeeping contingent could be sent to Ukraine after the end of the conflict. According to her, this is necessary for further stabilization of the situation. The minister added that an "international presence to enforce the ceasefire" in Ukraine could be considered together with a security guarantee for Kiev such as its accession to NATO.

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