Ukraine insists that any potential military mission from partners should include not only the deployment of ground troops but also air and Black Sea patrols.
This was stated by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgiy Tikhiy, during a briefing on February 27.
According to him, if Ukraine's partners are willing to discuss sending their contingents to ensure peace and long-term security, then it is "quite possible" to also talk about the protection of Ukrainian airspace and a presence in the Black Sea.
“Any long-term security must involve a strengthened presence of our allies in the Black Sea and in the air. We are already discussing this with them in negotiations and believe it is a serious topic that needs to be addressed,” Tikhiy emphasized.
He added that important rounds of discussions on security commitments are ahead. Among them is an upcoming meeting convened on March 6 by the President of the European Council, António Costa, and several other meetings, noted the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As reported by the Financial Times on February 18, during an emergency summit of leaders in Paris, Macron proposed to deploy European peacekeeping forces behind the future line of demarcation rather than directly on it.
Italy, the United Kingdom, Latvia, and Germany had previously expressed their readiness to send peacekeeping units to Ukraine. Poland immediately stated that it does not plan to engage its troops.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the deployment of troops from European partners in Ukraine could be one of the most effective means of pressure on Russia to achieve peace. At the same time, he noted that the peacekeeping mission should not replace Ukraine's membership in NATO.
On February 20, it became known that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to present a peacekeeping proposal to US President Donald Trump, which includes deploying 30,000 European troops in Ukraine to ensure a ceasefire.