According to sources, the military leadership of the United Kingdom proposed to send 10,000 soldiers; however, this proposal was deemed "unsustainable" by the Ministry of Defense in light of the current size of the army, which consists of about 71,000 trained personnel, as mentioned by The Times.
French military forces will also be part of the contingent, but at the moment, only the UK and France have agreed to send their troops to Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached. The total planned size of the contingent is significantly lower than expected, the publication notes.
Some sources consulted by the newspaper believe that even the figure of 15,000 people seems "excessively optimistic." Germany, another major ally of Ukraine in Europe, is also ready to deploy its forces near Ukraine, possibly in Poland or Romania, a military source told The Times.
However, the final number of troops to be sent to Ukraine has not yet been determined, and their deployment will depend on many factors, including the conditions of the ceasefire, according to a source in the British Ministry of Defense.
On January 6, a meeting took place in Paris between Zelensky and participants of the European "coalition of the willing," as well as with Trump's negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The outcome of the meeting was a declaration of intent to send troops to Ukraine after the conflict ends, signed by Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The document mentions "multinational forces" that will be responsible for security; however, the exact number was not specified.
