Europe walks back plan to send troops to Ukraine over logistical hurdles, lack of US support: ‘Not very sexy’

European leaders are shifting away from plans to send troops to bolster Ukraine’s defenses due to logistical issues and apparent lack of US support, officials said.

Support for European troops in Ukraine has waned ahead of Thursday’s 30-nation summit, with the so-called “coalition of the willing” now looking for other ideas to support Kyiv, diplomats with knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

“They are taking a step back from ground troops and trying to re-dimension what they were doing to something that could be more sensible,” one diplomat said.

4

“When Ukraine was in a better position, the idea of sending troops appealed,” another added. “But now, with the situation on the ground and the US administration as it is, it’s not very sexy.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had both suggested Europe could provide thousands of soldiers to maintain peace in Ukraine if a cease-fire deal is reached.

Although President Trump initially praised the proposal during a meeting with Macron and Starmer last month, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has since mocked it as a “posture and a pose.”

Rather than discussing peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, this week’s Paris meeting will likely focus on how else to fortify Ukraine’s military and monitor the uneasy cease-fire agreements the US secured in the face of Russian defiance.

4

4

The shift came as some European allies baulked at the thought of sending troops to Ukraine without an international mandate and guarantees from the US.

The worries lie in the costs, manpower and equipment needed to deploy a substantial army to maintain peace, with fears also raised that the move may end with a direct conflict with Russia, officials said.

Although the focus of talks appear to have shifted, Europe has yet to completely abandon plans to deploy troops to Ukraine.

4

“It doesn’t mean individual countries won’t have soldiers deployed in Ukraine to provide training and other support,” a senior European official told Reuters.

Europe has previously committed to send its military officers to train tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the coming future as part of its steel “porcupine strategy” aimed at strengthening Kyiv so that it may fend off future Russian attacks.

Moscow has repeatedly said it will never agree to any peace proposal that includes the presence of NATO-member nations’ troops in Ukraine.

With Post wires