Senior officers from countries across Europe and beyond were due to meet Thursday at a military headquarters on the outskirts of London to flesh out plans for an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine as details of a partial ceasefire are worked out.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “coalition of the willing” plan, led by Britain and France, is moving into an “operational phase.” But it’s unclear how many countries are willing to send troops, or whether there will be any ceasefire to protect.
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders this week, though it remained to be seen when it might take effect and what possible targets would be off limits to attack.
The tentative deal to partially rein in the three-year war came after Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffed Trump’s push for a full 30-day ceasefire. The difficulty in getting the combatants to agree not to target one another’s energy infrastructure highlights the challenges Trump will face in trying to fulfill his campaign pledge to quickly end to the war.
Despite the negotiations, hundreds of drone attacks were launched overnight by both sides, causing several injuries and damage to buildings.
Ukraine said Russia had launched 171 long-range drones and it shot down 75 while another 63 decoy drones disappeared from radar after likely being jammed. Russia said it destroyed 132 Ukrainian drones in six Russian regions and the annexed Crimea.
If peace comes to Ukraine, the size of any force that might help enforce it is vague. Officials have cited figures of between 10,000 and 30,000 troops.
Only Britain and France have said they are willing to send troops, though countries including Australia, Canada, France and Finland say they are open to being involved in some way.
Around 30 leaders were involved in a video meeting on Saturday including Macron, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand and officials from NATO and the European Union.
Russia has said it will not accept any troops from NATO countries being based on Ukrainian soil. And Trump has given no sign the U.S. will guarantee reserve firepower in case of any breaches of a truce. Starmer says the plan won’t work without that U.S. “backstop.”
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Lawless reported from London.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
