The head of the EU Military Committee, General Robert Brieger, said that a UN mission comprising soldiers from various nations could monitor a ceasefire in Ukraine, Die Welt reported.
Discussions about a diplomatic resolution, which could lead to a ceasefire in the Russian war in Ukraine, intensified after Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Just before Trump’s inauguration, there were predictions that the Russo-Ukrainian war could be “resolved” within six months. According to insiders cited by The Independent a week after the inauguration, Trump was committed to “ending the war” in Ukraine by spring.
According to Brieger, the UN mission would require a military presence ‘in the high five-digit range’ to monitor a demilitarized zone along the front line that might be created after an agreed ceasefire.
“A mission under a UN mandate is possible, which will include not only Europeans, but also soldiers from the Global South or, for example, the Caucasus. The EU soldiers will undoubtedly be able to make a significant contribution,” Brieger said.
“This means they would also have the right to implement the ceasefire using weapons and air support,” he said. Brieger clarified that “currently all this sounds very theoretical,” but “such a scenario can be implemented.”
The general dismissed Donald Trump’s plan for a “quick end to the war in Ukraine” as “unlikely.”
“It would give the advantage of ending the deaths. The disadvantage, however, would be that the conflict would continue and, in the worst case, last for decades, for example, as between North and South Korea,” Brieger explained.
The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have reportedly begun discussing the possibility of sending British and French troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers if a ceasefire agreement is reached.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Brussels last month he saw “positive developments” in discussions about potential peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. On 13 January, he discussed the idea of deploying “partner contingents” with Macron.
Zelenskyy said on 16 January Ukraine was discussing foreign military presence with countries willing or able to participate, but it was “too early to discuss details” about numbers.
Read also:
- Reality dawns: Trump’s 24h Ukraine vows meet Moscow
- The Independent: Trump plans to end war in Ukraine by spring, sources say
- US military aid to Ukraine continues despite Trump’s 90-day foreign assistance freeze
