Bloomberg: EU Leaders Discuss Plan to Send Troops to Ukraine

During an online meeting on August 19, European leaders discussed a plan to send British and French military personnel to Ukraine as part of a future peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. As reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, the discussion specifically concerned the number of troops and their deployment locations.

According to them, about 10 countries, including the UK and France, have declared their readiness to send their troops to Ukraine. According to Bloomberg's interlocutors, the first phase of the plan being developed by the Europeans provides for the strengthening of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) through the training of Ukrainian military personnel and the replenishment of personnel.

It is expected that a "multinational group, consisting mainly of European military personnel," including "hundreds" of British and French soldiers, who will be deployed in Ukraine far from the front line, will be engaged in this, the publication notes. The other part of the plan, as Bloomberg writes, provides for US support, which will include the exchange of intelligence data, border control, arms supplies, and possibly air defense systems.

The British government issued a statement after the online meeting, which states that the planning group of the "coalition of the willing" will meet with its American counterparts in the coming days to discuss "reliable security guarantees and preparations for the deployment of supporting forces in the event of a cessation of hostilities."

As Bloomberg's sources reported, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, as well as the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of the North Atlantic Alliance member countries, will participate in these negotiations. According to The Guardian's interlocutors in the British government, the Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom, Tony Radakin, is also among them.

It is expected that Radakin will confirm London's readiness to provide military personnel for the protection of Ukraine's air and sea space, but without the presence of their military personnel near the dividing line, writes The Guardian.