Media learned about talks on sending European soldiers to Ukraine

Europe is holding talks on forming a deterrent force and sending soldiers to Ukraine. This was reported by Politico on 22 January with reference to European diplomats.

It noted that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys had already expressed their readiness to help Ukraine.

It is specified that it is about sending 50,000 soldiers from five or six European countries to guard the "line of demarcation" between Ukrainian and Russian troops in case of a ceasefire.

According to a French officer, the decision is likely to be made very quickly because of US President Donald Trump's desire for "diplomatic victories within the first 100 days".

Nevertheless, the plan could fail at any moment, Politico writes.

On January 23, it was reported that the US may force Europe to pay for arms supplies to Ukraine.

The day before, the media learned that Trump instructed his special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to resolve the Ukrainian conflict in 100 days. According to The Wall Street Journal, "almost no one thinks" that Kellogg will be able to fulfill this task. It was noted that the appointment of the special envoy is rather the first step to organize peace talks, the course of which Trump intends to control independently.

On January 20, Trump was inaugurated, after which he reiterated that he plans to meet with Putin as soon as possible and discuss the conflict in Ukraine. In turn, the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis a priority for Trump. According to him, "part of the preparatory work" has begun.

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