FT did not rule out sending EU soldiers to Ukraine due to lack of aid funds

European countries may decide to send their soldiers to Ukraine due to the lack of funds for aid. This was reported by the Financial Times (FT) on 23 January.

This issue is expected to be discussed together with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at an informal summit of the European Union (EU) in February.

According to the FT, Ukrainian officials believe that Kiev's allies could send some 40,000-50,000 troops to the country as part of a possible settlement of the conflict.

Former NATO assistant secretary-general Kamil Grand said that European forces should be "powerful enough not to become an easy target."

He estimated that they could most likely be formed within a special coalition led by Britain, France, the Netherlands and with the participation of the Baltic states and Northern Europe.

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Reuters reported on December 18, 2024, that European leaders were discussing the issue of sending 100,000 military personnel to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement. The next day, December 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his powers expired last May 20) noted that during a meeting with French leader Emmanuel Macron, he discussed the deployment of troops on the country's territory.

Later, on December 20, the US newspaper The Washington Post reported that the EU refused to introduce peacekeeping forces to Ukraine under the NATO flag because it would require consensus among the alliance's countries. In addition, Europe realizes that acting on behalf of the bloc would have angered Russia.

For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the reports about sending European forces to Ukraine were aimed at escalating the conflict. She noted that all the propaganda was an attempt by Western supporters of the conflict to drown out the growing voices in favor of peace talks.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.