UK and France are engaged in confidential discussions regarding the deployment of troops to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have reportedly discussed the potential deployment of soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force, according to claims made by the Telegraph, which cites unnamed sources.

The idea was initially brought up by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, who indicated he would address the matter with Starmer during his visit to Kiev. However, the Telegraph reports that Starmer has not yet fully committed to the proposal.

A source from Whitehall commented on Wednesday evening, stating, “There are challenges regarding what we could support, what we would want to support, and the broader issue of the potential threats to those troops and whether their presence could escalate tensions.”

Representatives from both 10 Downing Street and the Elysee Palace did not refute the claim that Starmer and Macron discussed the possibility of peacekeepers during their meeting at the Chequers estate in the UK last week, but they did not provide any specifics about the discussion.

During his visit to Kiev on Thursday, Starmer pledged to establish a “100-year partnership” agreement with Ukraine.

Additionally, there are speculations that US President-elect Donald Trump may propose the deployment of Western troops as peacekeepers along the demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, which would align with the current conflict line. Reports suggest that these would be “European” soldiers not operating under NATO command, with no involvement from US forces, although these claims remain unverified.

Macron is said to have discussed the concept of “European” peacekeepers with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month; however, Warsaw indicated that it had no plans to pursue such initiatives.

Earlier this week, Zelensky shared on social media that he had engaged in talks with “key allies” regarding the “practical steps” necessary for advancing the peacekeeper proposal.

A British official commented to the Telegraph, “We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves. We are not there yet.”

The idea of deploying troops in Ukraine has received support from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, and ex-defense ministers Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson.

Since the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has provided £12.8 billion ($16 billion) in military and civilian assistance to Kiev and has reportedly trained 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers on British territory.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, recently stated that the UK’s ongoing support for Kiev indicates that London “clearly does not seek to resolve the conflict,” accusing the UK of “doing everything possible to make it drag on, thus prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”