The Ukrainian Coalition’s security guarantees include sending in troops if a ceasefire is reached
Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
After nearly four years of major conflict, Ukraine has been given a series of hard-line assurances — backed by more than 30 countries including Canada — that it can enter into potential peace talks with Russia.
The agreement, backed by a “coalition of the willing,” provides for certain military commitments from Western countries to prevent Russia from resuming hostilities, should the ceasefire come into effect.
“This is about building an effective foundation for peace,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who pointed out that the hardest work is yet to come.
“We can reach a peace agreement only if Putin is willing to make compromises. Therefore, we must speak frankly: for every Russian word, Putin shows that he is not ready for peace.”
As part of the assurances signed on Tuesday, the US has pledged to help monitor a possible ceasefire.
France and the UK have promised to put boots on the ground in Ukraine if a ceasefire goes into effect in order to build regional institutions that will pave the way for large troop deployments if Russia resumes its offensive.
Canada has pledged its continued commitment to the force that will establish the peace agreement. Exactly what kind of force Canada could use is unclear, in part because the military, short on manpower and equipment, is in a rebuilding mode.
Entering the meeting, Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked if Canada has the capacity to back up its commitment.
“Do we have, the power of the bench, to implement your goals? Yes, we are building that bench,” Carney said. “We will continue to build that bench [with] the greatest army for generations to come within the next five years.”
He said the government’s $81.8-billion investment during this period is “in part because of problems like this.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the agreement “a very concrete document” and thanked the countries involved.
Reaching that agreement has been a struggle as leaders have been distracted by US military action in Venezuela and renewed threats by US President Donald Trump to annex Greenland.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked about US threats around Greenland on Tuesday, after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a debate that the US choice to deploy troops in another NATO country would mean ‘everything stops’ – including NATO and post-war security provided by the transatlantic alliance.
A U.S. defense official said coalition countries will need to meet with their communities about what the security package means for Ukraine.
“The public must understand that their governments commit to using the military after a cease-fire agreement,” said Matthew Schmidt, a former instructor at the US Army War College and an associate professor at the University of New Haven, Conn.
There are many aspects of the security guarantees that Russia will find unappealing and has already completely removed, including the presence of NATO in Ukraine.
Schmidt said that the members of the alliance, including Canada, should be prepared for Moscow to try to undermine the agreement by using disinformation.
“This is the kind of thing that Putin can use … to push public opinion against,” Schmidt said.
He said the idea would be to tell people in the West that they don’t understand what it means to have troops on the ground in Ukraine, possibly fighting the Russians.
“As they are able to push the information space in that direction, over time they can weaken public support for that alliance,” Schmidt said.
