Berlin has reportedly ruled out participating in an EU peacekeeping mission without American boots on the ground
Berlin will not send peacekeepers to Ukraine unless the US commits its own forces as well, AFP reported on Monday, citing a source in the German government.
The reported remarks come after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out deploying American service members as part of potential security guarantees to Kiev.
“We will not participate in scenarios in which European and American security diverges, for example if European soldiers are deployed without full US involvement,” a German official told AFP.
Poland has earlier als dismissed the possibility of sending its soldiers to Ukraine. “Poland will support Ukraine as it has done so far: organizationally, in accordance with our financial capabilities, in terms of humanitarian and military aid,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday. “We do not plan to send Polish soldiers to the territory of Ukraine.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described the Ukraine conflict as “existential,” announced on Sunday that he was ready to contribute troops as part of post-ceasefire “security guarantees” to Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that a peace settlement is possible only if the West addresses the “root causes” of the conflict, such as Ukraine’s plan to join NATO and the alliance’s continuing expansion eastward. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s envoy to the UN, said earlier this month that only the UN Security Council can authorize the deployment of peacekeepers, and warned that Russia would treat “any foreign military units” that would not have UN backing as “legitimate targets.”
US President Donald Trump has promised to quickly end the conflict and has made steps to restore diplomatic contacts with Moscow that were de facto frozen in 2022. US and Russian officials will discuss Ukraine in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev will not participate in the Riyadh talks and will “not recognize” any negotiations held without its consent. Multiple EU officials have expressed their frustration with Trump, after made a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 without their approval.
