European countries would not be able to ensure Ukraine’s security without US assistance, MP Giedrimas Jeglinskas, the chairman of Lithuania’s parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, says.
“Is Europe ready to send troops to Ukraine? Is Germany ready, or the United Kingdom?” Jeglinskas told reporters on Wednesday. “Even though we are now saying that we will increase our defence spending to 5% [of GDP], Europe overall does not yet have that capability. This is wishful thinking about European forces being present in Ukraine, unless it comes with US support.”
“Without the United States, I don’t see any chances here,” he added.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump ruled out sending American troops to Ukraine and said that security guarantees for Ukraine could include US air support.
Meanwhile, Trump has previously said that European countries were prepared to send troops to Ukraine to ensure any agreement.
“France and Germany, a couple of them, UK, they want to have boots on the ground,” Trump told Fox News.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has also said his country is ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. His adviser has said that Lithuania would send a similar number of troops as it previously sent to the NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, which is several hundred.
Parliament’s mandate needed
Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said that while Lithuania calculated how many peacekeeping troops it would send to Ukraine “a long time ago”, Russia must first cease fire.
“Without a doubt, a mandate from the parliament is needed, and in this case, if a final decision is made to move forward, it is clear that democratic procedures are necessary, including referral to parliament,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
However, “these forces physically cannot be in Ukraine’s territory” as long as military action continues.
According to Šakalienė, “intensive processes” are underway to work out the potential peacekeeping mission.
Kyiv’s European allies are seeking to form a peacekeeping force. The initiative has been endorsed by the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which also includes Japan and Australia. However, it is still not clear if and how the US would contribute.
Military chiefs from NATO’s 32 member countries are to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss peacekeeping in Ukraine.
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