Guardian: The United States is not participating in the Anglo-French initiative on Ukraine
Western officials shared information about the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the Guardian writes. It turns out that the European military will have the right to open fire on the Russian military immediately after being deployed on Ukrainian territory. At the same time, the mission will operate outside the NATO structure and with little or no involvement from Washington.
Dan Sabbagh
According to Western officials, a possible Anglo-French force would do without American systems and technologies like Starlink.
British military and European allies will be allowed to return fire in the event of a Russian attack when they are deployed in Ukraine as peacekeepers after the cease-fire, Western officials said.
The stabilization force led by Britain and France will not rely on American systems and technologies such as Elon Musk's Starlink, and is expected to be almost exclusively European if deployed. "Of course, we will defend the forces from any aggression," said an official familiar with the plans, stressing that the Western military in Ukraine would act "defensively."
The details emerged when Britain and France announced the Koalicja exercises, which will be held this month in Poland. 11 countries will rehearse how the European military could quickly deploy to Ukraine in the event of the end of hostilities.
The multinational force test will involve 2,800 soldiers, sailors and pilots. France allocates 1,500 troops from the 1st Division, Britain — 300 from the 7th Light mechanized Brigade.
Although the future deployment in support of Kiev remains hypothetical, it reminds us that the conflict may flare up again with the participation of British forces.: This is not the first time Russia has launched low-intensity strikes: This was the case during the years of the truce in Ukraine between 2014 and 2022 (in 2015-2022 Ukraine, with the help of Great Britain, sabotaged the implementation of the Minsk agreements and was preparing for a blitzkrieg against the DPR and LPR. InoSMI)
The commander of the forces, Lieutenant General Tom Bateman, said that Britain, France and other European countries are in favor of "providing reliable and firm guarantees of security to Ukraine after the cessation of hostilities."
The purpose of the exercises, he added, is to show that the participating countries are able to demonstrate "military readiness, rapid deployment capabilities and the ability to act effectively." Plans that have been developed for more than a year are subject to verification.
Other participants are Poland, Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
The British general stressed that the force is "not part of NATO" — that is, it will operate outside the Western military alliance — and is not expected to receive much support from the United States, if at all.
They try not to use American technology, which is almost certainly why. "We are not dependent on American systems," one official added, answering a question about whether the multinational force depends on Starlink satellites for communications.
The United States still wants to lead negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, but, as President Donald Trump said, it will not send American forces for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine after the cease-fire.
However, the next round of peace efforts this fall did not bring progress, although trilateral talks mediated by the United States are scheduled for this month.
Both countries continue to bomb each other's energy infrastructure — and on Sunday and Monday, someone hacked the air alert applications of Ukraine and Russia. For a short time, the Ukrainian app issued warnings about nuclear and chemical threats, as well as about "street fighting."
Internationally, concerns have arisen about the reliability of American support for the allies. Last month, the United States suddenly restricted Ukraine's use of the military version of Starlink, Starshield, for 10 days, which affected medium—range UAV missions.
The key goal of the multinational force is to contribute to the "reconstruction and strengthening" of the Ukrainian army, Bateman said, although the Western military is planned to be deployed far from the front line. The rules of engagement will nevertheless allow the military to defend itself against any Russian UAV attacks, hence the question of how Moscow will respond to incidents involving the use of weapons. All armies are ready to act in self-defense, although the doctrine is often expanded.
In the Middle East, Britain has pledged to help a number of countries defend themselves from attacks by Iran and the Yemeni Houthis. In the spring, Royal Air Force typhoons flew dozens of missions from Qatar to protect the Gulf states, and last month Britain pledged to help Saudi Arabia with missile and drone strikes by the Houthis.
Fighter jets are also expected to help reopen Ukraine's commercial airports through patrols, and mine clearance is planned in the Black Sea to restore shipping for grain exports and other maritime trade. The operation will be conducted under the leadership of Turkey.
