West prepares sending NATO troops to Ukraine and deployment servicemen along the front line

There are “active discussions” about how NATO nations might deploy troops to assist with a de-militarized zone, if one became part of any peace deal, and they were requested. This has been reported by CNN with a reference to a European defense official.

“Perhaps the presence of some NATO troops along Ukraine’s frontlines could restrain the Kremlin from trying to advance slowly,” stated in the material.

Alexander Hug, who ran the OSCE monitoring mission on the ground that oversaw the ceasefires of 2014-15, told CNN that no ceasefire is perfect.

“Violations are bound to occur. The key question is what the agreement foresees in terms of sanctions and remedial action.” He said that if either side got away with it, “you have an open invitation for more of the same.”

Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister and now the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told CNN from Rome she believedUkraine could still win with the right aid:

“The stakes for European security are extraordinarily high,” she said. “The scale of hybrid attacks in Europe have already surged and Ukraine’s defeat would cost us far more than aid. Putin has shown a total disregard for international law and cannot be trusted. Without credible security guarantees, any ceasefire agreement is likely to fail. Russia will simply rearm and re-attack.” A bad peace deal “will only lead to more war, just as it did before,” she said.

“We must learn from the past and ensure any future agreement is sustainable,” she added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are considering the idea of sending British and French soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping mission following a potential agreement to end the war, The Telegraph reports, citing its own sources.

The French President supports this approach and has already discussed it with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister DonaldTusk.

While Downing Street and the Elysee Palace have not denied the subject was raised during a meeting in Chequersey last week, details of the talks remain confidential. One British government source said:

"There are issues about what we can support, what we would like to support, and the broader question of what kind of threat those troops might be under and whether that is an escalation."

The proposal comes as European leaders debate whether to support Ukraine amid pressure from Donald Trump, who is pushing for a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow. Various scenarios are being considered in Washington, London and Paris. One idea is to deploy Western troops along the border between Ukraine and Russia to create a demilitarized buffer zone. The French President suggested that European countries play a key role in this process. During a conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, he stressed: "We agreed to work closely with key allies to achieve peace and develop effective security guarantees."

However, in the UK, no final decision has been made yet. British officials warn:

"We're a little ahead of ourselves. We're not there yet."

Any deployment of troops could provoke a strong reaction from Russia and increase the burden on the UK defence budget. It could also be seen as an escalation of the conflict, something NATO governments are keen to avoid.