Macron says Putin has no say in whether Western troops are deployed to ‘sovereign’ Ukraine

Moscow has no say in Ukraine’s request for deployment of peacekeeping troops from allies, says Macron

French president Emmanuel Macron has fleshed out some possible missions that could be undertaken by a military support force for Ukraine that Paris and London are working to put together with other nations, in a so-called “coalition of the willing” that could deploy after any ceasefire with Russia.

Speaking to French media ahead of an online summit that the UK hosted on Saturday, Mr Macron said the French-British blueprint doesn’t aim to deploy a “mass” of soldiers in Ukraine and instead envisages stationing troop contingents in key locations.

Mr Macron’s office said on Sunday that it couldn’t provide a recording of the French leader’s exchange with reporters from regional French newspapers on Friday night.

But according to La Dépêche du Midi and Le Parisien, the French president spoke of participating nations each deploying several thousand troops to “key points” in Ukraine. Their missions could include providing training and supporting Ukrainian defences, to demonstrate long-term support for Kyiv, the reports quoted Mr Macron as saying.

Mr Macron added that the proposed contingents from countries that are members of the Nato alliance would serve as “a guarantee of security” for Ukraine and that “several European nations, and also non-European, have expressed their willingness to join such an effort when it is confirmed,” La Dépêche reported.

Le Parisien cited Mr Macron as saying that Moscow’s agreement wasn't needed for such deployment. “Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for Allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not up to Russia to accept or not," he said.

Following Saturday’s two-hour virtual meeting, British prime minister Keir Starmer challenged Russian president Vladimir Putin to sign up to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine if he is serious about peace, and said allies will keep increasing the pressure on the Kremlin, including by moving planning for a peacekeeping force to an “operational phase.”

Around 30 leaders were involved in the call, including Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as officials from Nato and the European Union.

It was the second such meeting in two weeks, meant to help Ukraine face a change of approach by the US following the return of president Donald Trump, as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission. Many more countries were involved this time than the previous meeting on 2 March.

According to Sir Keir, military planners will convene again in the UK on Thursday to progress practical plans to support Ukraine’s future security.