Paris, France, Tuesday, a meeting of high-ranking military officials from 34 countries took place at the École Militaire in Paris to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. The gathering, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, included military leaders from 29 NATO member states, as well as from Austria, Australia, Japan and South Korea. The agenda also touched on the possibility of deploying peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. Germany’s Chief of Defence, Generalinspekteur Carsten Breuer, represented the Bundeswehr at the meeting.
According to a report by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the action was coordinated with the cabinet of US President Donald Trump. As news of Ukraine’s agreement to a 30-day ceasefire reached Paris, Macron announced that “the moment has come for Europe to bring its full weight to bear, for Ukraine and for itself.”
Macron emphasized that the allies must move from a concept to a “plan for defining credible security guarantees” in order to make a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine possible. The security guarantees, he stressed, “must not be separated from NATO and its capabilities.”
At the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum on Tuesday afternoon, French NATO Ambassador David Cvach expressed a similar view, stating that the debate focuses too much on replacing American capabilities and that instead, a “burden shifting” towards Europeans should be aimed for. The discussions will continue at a meeting of defense ministers from France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Poland at the Val de Grace in Paris later in the day.
Initially, military contributions for verifying the ceasefire will be debated, followed by the deployment of soldiers to monitor a potential ceasefire. The peacekeepers, according to French plans, will not be stationed near the front lines but in other parts of the country or near critical infrastructure like power plants. The most important aspect, however, is the long-term strengthening of the Ukrainian army.
The plans for the army’s strengthening contradict Russian demands for Ukraine’s demilitarization. Demilitarization, denazification and renunciation of a NATO membership are part of the officially declared goals of the military operation that has been ongoing in the region for nearly three years. Russia also rejects the involvement of European states in a potential Ukrainian peacekeeping force.
Foreign military personnel, unrecognized by Russia, would immediately become a legitimate target for Russian rocket attacks if they were to enter Ukraine, Russian representatives have repeatedly emphasized. Quarters where foreign mercenaries and instructors are housed are regularly targeted with precision weapons. On Wednesday, a multi-story hotel in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih was hit and partially destroyed by Iskander rockets, according to the Ukrainian news portal Strana, marking the fourth hotel in the city to be destroyed by Russia.