France and U.K. might send peacekeepers if Russia and Ukraine reach ceasefire — RFE/RL

If Moscow and Kyiv can reach a ceasefire agreement, European countries might send their troops to Ukraine to ensure compliance, sources inside NATO told journalists at RFE/RL this week. The preliminary discussions about a peacekeeping mission are currently limited to the national level. “They’re only in certain capitals, not at the NATO level,” RFE/RL reported, saying that the theoretical deployment would involve French and British forces.

Officials in Paris and London are reportedly preparing contingency plans if the incoming Trump administration in the United States questions how European countries intend to continue supporting Ukraine. 

Despite a lack of consensus among NATO member states regarding Ukraine’s accession to the alliance, President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that the Russian invasion’s “hot phase” won’t end until NATO places Ukraine under its security umbrella.