Will Western soldiers be se to Ukraine?
At the same time that 27 members of the European Union will gather to hold a meeting in Brussels, the issue of the war in Ukraine and the sending of foreign troops to the battlefield of this war-torn European coury cast a shadow on this meeting.
According to Isna, the war in Ukraine will soon eer its third year in February 2025, and while the coury’s forces are in a precarious situation, the West insists on sending weapons and military aid to Ukraine instead of focusing on a peaceful solution to end the war. .
According to “France24” News channel, Ukrainian Preside Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other key leaders of the European Union in Brussels on Wednesday. This is while French Preside Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kerr Starmer could not travel to Brussels due to what was called “scheduling ierference”, but they have se their foreign ministers to this meeting.
27 European Union leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday for a day-long summit with a very busy agenda, including the war in Ukraine, the transition of power in Syria, coinued protests in Georgia, migration policy and other issues, including under the leadership of Govt. Preside-elect Donald Trump will pay.
Despite the long list of issues, the high-level meeting is not expected to make progress on any of them.
This meeting will begin with the issue of the war in Ukraine and the possibility of Western forces going to Kiev, and one of the main concerns of Europe will be the beginning of the presidency of “Donald Trump”; The preside-elect is likely to challenge Washington’s aid to Kiev.
Olaf Schultz and Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin – October 2024
Consultation on the deployme of troops to Ukraine is “very early”.
At the same time as he arrived in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, Zelensky emphasized the issue of a strong position and said: “Europe needs a united and strong position to ensure lasting peace.”
Regarding the sending of Western troops to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz told reporters in Brussels: “Consultation on the issue of sending troops to Ukraine is too early and it does not seem reasonable at the mome.”
He added: “Our priority is to ensure the sovereigy of Ukraine and it should not be forced to accept a dictated peace.”
This comme of the German chancellor is stated while the reports indicate the beginning of talks and consultations regarding the possibility of deploying European forces in Ukraine.
While this issue was raised in the rece meeting between Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, diplomats say it is too early to make concrete proposals in this regard.
“If we start discussing among ourselves now what a deal could look like, we will make it very easy for the Russians,” the NATO secretary general told reporters in Brussels. “Kiev’s allies should focus on increasing arms shipmes and ask them not to discuss the possible terms of open negotiations.”
Ukrainian forces
The request of Europeans from Ukraine to lower the age of enlistme
Zelensky and Macron, who met on Wednesday, apparely agreed to train Ukrainian forces on French soil.
The preside of Ukraine wrote on X social network: “I thank Macron for preparing a brigade by France for our army and we agreed to coinue this cooperation and prepare another brigade. We hope other partners will join this effort by helping equip additional Ukrainian brigades.”
Despite the approval of a new conscription law in May, the Ukrainian army has had many problems with sending replaceme troops; Young men are relucta to sign up for military service because its duration is at best indefinite and at worst irreversible. The leaders of Ukraine’s western partners wa it to lower the minimum age of enlistme to 25 to increase the capacity of the reserve forces. But some political sensitivities and concern about the population crisis have preveed any change in this field.
Also, the lack of manpower in the Ukrainian army is so dire that the preside of Ukraine signed a bill that would allow Ukrainian prisoners to join the army to fight against Russia.
Regarding the issue of sending foreign troops to Ukraine, British Defense Minister John Haley told The Times newspaper: “Britain should make the training more suitable for what the Ukrainians need during the trip to Kiev. “We need to make it easier for the Ukrainians to get access, and we need to work with the Ukrainians to deploy more troops.”
“We will do whatever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians wa,” he said while pledging the ÂŁ225m support package, when asked if it mea expanding the training of Ukrainian conscripts inside the UK. They are the ones who fight. “Britain should help Ukraine motivate and move more troops.”
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