{"id":387612,"date":"2025-08-31T18:49:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T18:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/387612\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T18:49:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T18:49:25","slug":"eu-states-working-on-plans-for-postwar-military-deployments-to-ukraine-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/387612\/","title":{"rendered":"EU states working on plans for postwar military deployments to Ukraine \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

European capitals are working on \u201cpretty precise plans\u201d for potential military deployments to Ukraine<\/a> as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the full backing of US capabilities, Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> has said.<\/p>\n

There was a \u201cclear road map\u201d for possible deployments, the European Commission<\/a> president told the Financial Times in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity guarantees are paramount and absolutely crucial,\u201d Ms Von der Leyen said. \u201cWe have a clear road map and we had an agreement in the White House … and this work is going forward very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Von der Leyen spoke while on a tour of eastern European Union<\/a> states close to Russia<\/a> this weekend, during which she focused on efforts to increase national defence spending and bolster the continent\u2019s military readiness.<\/p>\n

\"EuropeanEuropean Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk speak to journalists as they visit the fence at the Poland\/Belarus border in Krynki, eastern Poland, on Sunday. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Her remarks came amid planning for a meeting of European leaders this week at which they are set to firm up national commitments to the western force.<\/p>\n

She said capitals were working on plans for \u201ca multinational troop [deployment] and the backstop of the Americans\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump<\/a> reassured us that there will be [an] American presence as part of the backstop,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was very clear and repeatedly affirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukraine has demanded concrete security guarantees from its western backers, including troops on the ground, as part of any peace deal to end Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a>\u2019s 3\u00bd-year war.<\/p>\n

The troops are set to include potentially tens of thousands of European-led personnel, backed by assistance from the US including command and control systems and intelligence and surveillance assets. That arrangement was agreed at a meeting between Mr Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy<\/a> and senior European leaders last month.<\/p>\n

Those who met Mr Trump in Washington are expected to gather in Paris on Thursday at the invitation of France\u2019s president Emmanuel Macron<\/a> to continue the high-level discussions, three diplomats briefed on the plans told the FT.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Kremlin says Europe is hindering Trump\u2019s peace efforts on UkraineOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

They include German chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/a>, UK prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a>, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and Ms Von der Leyen. The Elys\u00e9e declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Last week, defence chiefs from the so-called coalition of the willing met and had \u201cworked out pretty precise plans\u201d, Ms Von der Leyen said, including discussions on \u201cthe necessary items for a functioning build-up of troops\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it always needs the political decision of the respective country, because deploying troops is one of the most important sovereign decisions of a nation,\u201d she added. \u201c[But] the sense of urgency is very high … it\u2019s moving forward. It\u2019s really taking shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Von der Leyen praised Mr Trump\u2019s commitment to participating in the peace effort, after months of uncertainty in European capitals about the stance of the US president, who had in the past praised Mr Putin and clashed with Mr Zelenskiy.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutin has not changed, he is a predator,\u201d she said. \u201c[Trump] wants peace and Putin is not coming to the negotiation table … He has a negative experience with Putin, more and more Putin does not do what he says.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[But] we have had in the last months several encounters where it was obvious that one can rely on the Europeans,\u201d she added. \u201cIt is clear that when we say something, we do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any western military deployment to post-conflict Ukraine would support a significantly strengthened Ukrainian army; that would form the core of the deterrence force.<\/p>\n

The commission would explore new funding streams to provide \u201csustainable financing of the Ukrainian armed forces as\u2009…\u2009a security guarantee\u201d, Ms Von der Leyen said.<\/p>\n

After any peace deal, Kyiv would need \u201cquite a sizeable number of soldiers and they need good salaries and of course, modern equipment\u2009…\u2009it\u2019s for sure the EU that will have to chip in\u201d.<\/p>\n

Existing funding streams from Brussels to Ukraine, including budgetary support, would need to remain during peacetime, Ms Von der Leyen said, meaning that \u201can extra payment\u2009… has to be provided for the Ukrainian armed forces\u201d.<\/p>\n

The EU will also maintain funding for the training of Ukrainian soldiers after any peace deal. It is encouraging member states to use a \u20ac150 billion loans-for-arms fund to either enter into joint production agreements with Ukrainian defence companies or to purchase weapons that can be given to Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe role of the commission is paramount in enabling the member states to finance a surge in defence,\u201d Ms Von der Leyen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe character of warfare has completely changed,\u201d she added, citing the need for EU militaries to invest in drones, air and missile defence, space and cyber capabilities. \u2013 Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"European capitals are working on \u201cpretty precise plans\u201d for potential military deployments to Ukraine as part of post-conflict…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[32,5898,34,2000,299,5187,2557,1699,1945,807,770,332,9041,49,1220,333,20729],"class_list":{"0":"post-387612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-donald-tusk","10":"tag-emmanuel-macron","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-european","14":"tag-european-commission","15":"tag-european-union","16":"tag-friedrich-merz","17":"tag-keir-starmer","18":"tag-poland","19":"tag-russia","20":"tag-ukraine-crisis","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","23":"tag-vladimir-putin","24":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115124880751498209","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}