The international force to be deployed in Ukraine will carry out exercises “in the coming months”

Leaders of the Volunteer Coalition have agreed that international troops that will form part of the future Multinational Force, which will be deployed to Ukraine once a ceasefire agreement is reached with Russia, will carry out military exercises in neighboring countries “in the coming months.”

“They will be deployed in Ukraine’s neighboring countries to verify our deployment plans and demonstrate that we are prepared, determined and reliable, by land, air and sea,” explained the French president, Emmanuel Macron, during a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of the United Kingdom and Germany, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz.

His words come after a new meeting of the Volunteer Coalition held in the French capital, Paris, in which participants “welcomed” US President Donald Trump’s support for security guarantees for Ukraine during the recent NATO summit in Ankara.

The members — Ukraine, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain — have stated in a joint statement that “the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNF-U) is ready to operate and act to regenerate Ukrainian forces and provide security to Ukraine within its territory,” at the request of kyiv.

Likewise, they have reiterated their support for direct dialogue between the parties, the establishment of a ceasefire on the line of contact and the continuation of “constructive” negotiations, as long as they are based on the principles that “there is no peace without Ukraine” and that “no agreement on European interests and security can be negotiated without Europeans.”

“We are committed to intensifying economic pressure on Russia as long as it continues to attack Ukraine. We will continue to strengthen our sanctions and coordinate our actions to prevent them from being circumvented,” they said in the statement, stating that they are willing to increase the supply of air defense systems, interceptors and long-range weapons.

ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS OF UKRAINE

The president of the European Council, António Costa, stated after the meeting that the community bloc “is completely united in its strategy of peace through force”, with consensuses such as “increasing support for Ukraine, increasing pressure on Russia and advancing on the path towards a just and lasting peace.”

“We look forward to advancing Ukraine’s accession process to the EU: tomorrow, we will open another negotiation cluster, bringing the country one step closer to its European future. Enlargement is a key guarantee of security: we need to continue and accelerate this process,” he stated on his social networks.