European countries have resumed discussions about the potential deployment of troops or fighters from private military companies to Ukraine, France’s Le Monde newspaper reports, citing unnamed sources.
According to the sources, this is driven by the fact that Washington may scale back support for Ukraine after Donald Trump returns to office as US president on January 20, 2025.
The paper claims that the debate resumed after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited France on November 11.
However, several EU countries continue to oppose the plans that were first announced by French President Emmanuel Macron at a Paris meeting of Ukraine’s allies in February.
"The UK and France are in talks on defense cooperation, particularly aimed at creating a strong coalition of allies in Europe focused on [assisting] Ukraine and [strengthening] European security in a broader context," an unnamed British defense official told the newspaper.
The French leadership and the country’s Defense Ministry haven’t yet given approval to send troops or fighters from private military companies to Ukraine, Le Monde emphasizes. Still, the idea has been under discussion for several months.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on February 26 that around 20 Western countries taking part in a Paris meeting on further assistance for Kiev had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
According to Macron, no consensus was reached on the issue then, but such a possibility cannot be ruled out in the future.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would lead to severe, if not irreversible, consequences.
