Thousands of European troops will participate in a military exercise in Poland this week to prepare for a post-war mission in Ukraine that will likely never happen, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s European backers continue to insist on the idea that a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war must involve the deployment of NATO troops to Ukrainian territory as a security guarantee despite Moscow repeatedly ruling it out.
The nations willing to send troops have formed a group known as the “coalition of the willing,” which is effectively led by the UK and France. The two countries are also leading the drills in Poland, which will involve 2,800 soldiers from the UK, France, and eight other European nations.
Russia and Ukraine are set to resume US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi on November 10, but a deal is unlikely if Ukraine continues to insist on security guarantees that involve NATO troops on Ukrainian territory, which appears to be the case.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway, the idea of NATO Article 5-style security guarantees was discussed, and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported on October 12 that the potential deal being discussed would involve the US and European nations giving Ukraine a guarantee that they would respond militarily if Russia attacked again
The US is trying to entice Russia to agree to a deal by offering economic incentives, but Russian officials have said they won’t back down on their core demands, which include some form of Ukrainian neutrality.
