Macron Downplays Ukraine Peacekeeping Force, No ‘Mass’ of Soldiers Needed

French President Emmanuel Macron has played down the scale of any pan-European peacekeeping force deployed to Ukraine in the wake of a potential deal to end the war with Russia.

Speaking to French media ahead of Saturday’s virtual summit organised by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss plans in Ukraine for the so-called “coalition of the willing”, President Macron indicated that a large French military presence is not being envisaged.

In comments reported by Le Parisien, Macron said that “the goal is not to have mass (of soldiers)” in Ukraine but rather a deployment of “a few thousand men per nation, in key areas”.  The French president said that such forces would focus on continuing to train the Ukrainian military and to “show our long-term support”.

While no other country has publicly committed to joining the British-Franco peacekeeping force effort, Macron said that the plans are still being finalised and that “several” other countries, potentially including non-European nations, would contribute.

Despite the Kremlin asserting that a deployment of European troops into Ukraine would represent an “escalation” in the conflict, the French leader said that they are prepared to send soldiers regardless of whether Russia approves or not.

“Ukraine is sovereign; if it asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not,” Macron said.

Following the virtual summit with 29 other world leaders on Saturday, British PM Starmer said that the military planning for sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event of a brokered deal was entering into its “operational phase”.

Starmer said that military leaders would convene on Thursday in London to “put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security.”

The British leader accused Moscow of “dithering and delay” over the ceasefire proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and said that Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine “run entirely counter to President Putin’s stated desire for peace”.

Starmer said that if Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” NATO powers must “ratchet up pressure…to convince him to come to the negotiating table”, Sir Keir said.

“To deliver this, we will accelerate our military support, tighten our sanctions on Russia’s revenues, and continue to explore all lawful routes to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has done to Ukraine,” he said.

Putin has said that he could support a ceasefire but said that there “are nuances” that need to be hammered out, such as preventing Ukraine from re-arming to a significant degree and who would enforce the truce.

The Russian leader is expected to speak with President Trump in the coming week to discuss ending the war, envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.

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