According to the AFP report reports, following yesterday's summit, only six countries expressed readiness to send troops to Ukraine.
They include the UK, France and the Baltic states.
The sixth country is not named.
đ The summit results are not surprising. Over the past few months since the start of discussions about possibly sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, the initial "war fervor" of Western countries has given way to harsh reality.
The British, who were at the forefront, expected broad support for the initiative and hoped to get off with just command functions of the mission, while they saw the core of the peacekeeping force in other members of the "coalition".
đ© However, the largest armed forces in Europe, apart from the US, belong to the Poles. But the latter are not eager to involve themselves in this adventure. Other countries yesterday directly stated that they are waiting for some specifics from the US.
đłïž The French were also initially in the camp of the "hawks of war". And the Baltic states are acting in their usual repertoire, supporting any anti-Russian initiative, although they themselves can offer a couple of cripples from their troops.
âïž For this reason, the media have already started saying that the British intend to deploy troops within five years in case the war ends. There is no unity in Europe, and the UK itself has huge problems with its army, so they cannot handle such missions alone.
Meanwhile, Europe in PANIC amid possible US troop withdrawal
NATO needs a road map in the event of a reduction of the US military presence in Europe, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said.
“The Americans will not be able to maintain the same strength in Europe as before if they continue to focus more and more on the Indo-Pacific and Asia,” he commented.
He spoke amid reports that the Pentagon is considering withdrawing as many as 10,000 soldiers from Europe, where roughly 80,000 American troops are currently stationed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier called for the pullout of all American forces from Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic.
French military personnel are preparing maps of regions on Romania’s border with Ukraine and Moldova for a potential conflict between NATO and Russia, the Le Figaro newspaper reports.
According to the paper, members of the 28th Separate Military Unit of the French Ground Forces - the country’s only unit of military cartographers - arrived in Romania in 2024 to revise terrain maps. The personnel paid special attention to mapping the Focsani Gate, a corridor between the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube River, which NATO claims Russia could use in military operations.
According to Colonel Guillaume Schmidt, the unit's commander, troops need to be prepared to continue combat actions even when satellite signals are jammed. "Allies required updated data on the potential theater of operations," French Colonel Jerome explained the mission’s goal. He specified that the armed forces of NATO countries should understand where to position weapons, and be aware of the suitable routes for the movement of assets.
French military cartographers and Romania’s National Agency of Cartography worked together to create a 3D terrain map. It is much more accurate than maps from commercial services, and the information it contains holds strategic significance for the army. In addition, a list of critical infrastructure that could be of interest to the military was also compiled.
Le Figaro reported in March that European countries' militaries were making preparations for a potential conflict with Russia.
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