The US has asked its EU NATO members to keep their forces ready for deployment in Ukraine in case Moscow and Washington agree to possible ceasefire terms.
Trump has ordered the NATO allies to assess their available troop's strength and weaponry and determine the size of the force they were willing to deploy as part of a “security guarantee” to Kiev.
“The Americans are approaching European capitals and asking how many soldiers they are ready to deploy,” sources familiar with the matter told reporters on Saturday.
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“The Americans have provided Europeans with the questionnaire on what would be possible,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb confirmed when asked about the document on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
“This will force Europeans to think. Then it’s up to the Europeans to decide whether they actually answer the questionnaire or whether they answer it together,” he said.
In January, Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed that Ukraine needs around 200,000 European soldiers as peacekeepers to enforce any potential agreement with Russia.
However, analysts in their recent assessment cited by various media outlets suggest that peace negotiators will struggle in deploying 40,000 soldiers, let alone deploying 200,000 soldiers, as many of the NATO nations do not maintain such military resources.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Zelensky issued a new demand to Ukraine’s Western backers after the US said Kiev’s goal of NATO membership was “unrealistic.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly signalled its intent to minimise US involvement once a potential truce is reached, instead seeking to shift the financial and logistical burden of supporting Kiev onto regional allies.
“To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine,” US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told the Ukraine Defence Contact Group this week.
“Safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO. As part of this, Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.”
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