Europe Will Fight To Guarantee Ukraine Peace Without US Support

The impact of the Russian attack on Ukraine/DOK PHOTO via Instagram @mfa_ukraine

JAKARTA - Europe is now in a difficult position when faced with US demands to give military power to enforce Ukraine's future peace agreement.

Experts say sending European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine may weaken and weaken NATO defenses, and the mission still needs US support for success.

While US attacks on the ground may not be required, deterrence in the form of US medium-range missiles and ultimately nuclear weapons will remain important.

"I'm not sure that any security guarantees will be 100% credible against Putin who is aggressive and nationalist unless it involves America in some ways," said Mark Lyall Grant, Britain's national security adviser during Trump's first term.

European officials also said only US guarantees would protect European peacekeepers and prevent Russia from carrying out attacks on Ukraine in the future.

Last week, US President Donald Trump shocked European countries by arranging bilateral peace negotiations with Russia, which was held on Tuesday in Riyadh.

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth told his allies "any security guarantee must be supported by European and non-European forces capable".

He stressed US troops would not be sent to Ukraine.

At an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday, European leaders still disagreed on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine, a plan that several European countries began to discuss last year on French initiatives.

Such power would increase the risk of direct confrontation with Russia and undermine the European military, whose stockpiles have been drained due to donations to Ukraine and are accustomed to relying heavily on US support for major missions.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was willing to send troops to Ukraine but there needed to be a US barrier' as well.