Media reported EU countries seeking Trump's support for sending troops to Ukraine

The United Kingdom and France are developing a plan to deploy up to 30,000 European peacekeepers in Ukraine. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal on February 23.

The implementation of this plan depends on whether US President Donald Trump can be persuaded to accept the limited role of the US military, which will have to support the European Union (EU) troops in case the conflict escalates.

European officials told the publication that the forces of the association states lack the capabilities that the US military has.

The newspaper indicated that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron plan to hold talks with President Trump at the White House in the coming days to discuss the plan. The French leader is expected to outline the allies' broader views on the situation in the Ukraine conflict and how to resolve it.

However, a major challenge could be the U.S. president's desire to improve relations with Russia and reluctance to position the U.S. military as a potential direct participant in the Ukraine crisis.

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Earlier in the day, the head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, called the EU's possible decision to send its peacekeepers to Ukraine suicidal for the association. The politician added that he considered the introduction of European troops into the country unlikely - the EU states have very modest armies.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron said on February 20 that Paris was not now considering sending its military contingent to take part in the Ukrainian conflict. Nevertheless, he pointed out that after the settlement of the crisis, the deployment of French peacekeepers to Ukraine was not ruled out.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Izvestia on February 23 that the second stage of talks between Moscow and Washington would be held at the level of department directors. The Euronews television channel reported at the same time that Trump had announced such a meeting on February 25. It is expected to be held again in Riyadh.