The 'volunteer alliance' is set to convene a gathering with senior military officers.
The volunteer coalition will kick off next Thursday In London, a gathering of senior military officers from the involved nations will commence to coordinate the technical details of dispatching peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
Theoretically, the purpose of these forces is to protect the upcoming truce between Russia and Ukraine. Practically, Their objective will be to defend Ukraine. It will be akin to the approximately 24,000 American troops deployed in South Korea following the armistice established in 1953 between that nation and North Korea.
Hence, there will likely be, at minimum on an official level, a threat that the volunteer coalition—a phrase somewhat laden with irony—created by the U.S. in 2003 to describe the nations joining them in invading Iraq, might face attacks or need to protect Ukraine.
Organizing all of this is not going to be simple. Furthermore, it appears fated to become the First purely European military operation, receiving no backing from the U.S. Since World War II, unless the Trump administration alters its position, Washington will refrain from offering aerial protection, logistics assistance, or intelligence to European forces. This might also encompass troops from Australia and New Zealand, though the full roster of participating nations remains unclear.
The gathering of military officers scheduled for next Thursday represents the key outcome from the virtual conference conducted yesterday as per the request of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This event involved representatives from 28 nations, surpassing the attendance seen during the meeting in London back in March which included fewer participants. During this upcoming assembly, Starmer failed to convince Japan to participate. .
The remarks made yesterday by Starmer were intended to apply pressure on Vladimir Putin. encourage the alliance to act The Prime Minister initiated the summit by saying, “In my view, Putin will eventually join the negotiation process, yet – and this is a crucial ‘yet’ for our discussion here – we should not simply idle awaiting his participation.” Furthermore, he emphasized that the current moment calls for exerting intense pressure on Russia so as to keep up with sanctions aimed at diminishing Putin’s military capabilities and compelling him to engage in talks.
Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview yesterday evening that both Europe and the United States should apply firm “pressure” on Russia to agree to a truce since “it doesn’t appear they truly desire peace.”
Starmer characterized yesterday’s summit as an advancement toward the strategy aimed at ensuring Ukraine’s survival—a concept that Donald Trump cast doubt upon earlier this week—moving into its “operational phase,” where “advancements will be made in formulating concrete strategies on how our military forces can contribute to securing Ukraine’s future safety.” Nonetheless, the truth is that the Key elements of the operation remain unspecified. .
The most obvious is who will participate At present, only two nations possess clearly verified the dispatch of troops to Ukraine, as well as to the UK and France Indeed, this week, the UK's Defence Secretary, John Healey, and the Chief of the Defense Staff, Tony Radakin, traveled to France to initiate plans for the operation. Additionally, Australia indicated yesterday its willingness If Australia, situated diametrically opposed to Europe geographically, decides to pitch in with military support while NATO nations remain inactive, it could dealt as a significant setback for the vision of unified action among European states that is being aimed at.
However, this reflects the current situation. According to an announcement made by the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, “Italy has no plans for participating in any potential military operation in Ukraine.” The country rejects deploying troops unless authorized by a UN resolution. This stance positions Rome as potentially the initial departure within the alliance, though Meloni’s declaration leaves room for altering their position later on. Indeed, the Italian leader employs ambivalence, embracing transatlantic ties even as she aims to maintain strong personal relationships with figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Actually, the uncertainty isn’t unique to Meloni. The identities of the countries that will dispatch their military commanders remain undisclosed. to London on Thursday, nor, clearly, the allocation of roles, the hierarchy of commands, or the supply networks of the peacekeeping forces. For instance, training Ukrainian troops in Lviv, which is about 1,000 kilometers away from the frontline, differs significantly from conducting such training at potential demarcation lines in Donbas.
In principle, The UK and France are anticipated to essentially assume a leadership position. , not just because of the political stance of their governments but also due to their armed forces being significantly more capable than others within Europe,. have recent combat experience And everything hinges on Germany's choice.
Yesterday's virtual meeting stalled on an important point: the the use of the 300 billion euros seized by the Russian government In the nations that took part in the summit aimed at funding the acquisition of weaponry for Ukraine, the interest accrued from those funds has so far been utilized just two times — first by the European Union and subsequently by the United Kingdom. London advocates for using the original sum, whereas Paris and Berlin stand against this idea. Keir Starmer’s “operational phase” remains a work-in-progress with considerable distance yet to cover.
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