The UK and France might deploy troops to Ukraine in light of Donald Trump’s upcoming return to the White House in January.
As reported by French news outlet Le Monde on Monday, citing an unnamed British military source, the discussions to deploy Western troops rekindled in November when British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited France for WWI commemorations.
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“Discussions are underway between the UK and France on defense cooperation, particularly with a view to creating a hard core of allies in Europe, focused on Ukraine and wider European security,” the source told Le Monde.
The outlet also cited a comment France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made to the BBC on Nov. 23, in which Barrot said Paris “[does] not discard any option” regarding troop deployments to Ukraine.
Le Monde said the “classified” discussions were prompted by Trump’s return to office and the anticipated decreased support from Washington to Kyiv.
It added that Paris has not approved troop deployments to Ukraine though “proposals have clearly been on the table” for several months.
However, nothing is known at present about the number of troops, timing or location allegedly proposed or discussed.
Le Monde noted that French President Emmanuel Macron championed Western troop deployments earlier this year, a notion that met fierce opposition from other European countries, such as Germany for fear of escalation with Moscow.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November, 25, 2024
While the UK and France have been training Ukrainian troops within their territories, troop deployments have been a taboo topic. That said, it is widely believed that Western advisers are already in Ukraine to help adjust and coordinate Kyiv’s strikes using Western weaponry.
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