A European proposal to form a peacekeeping force in Ukraine news

On Monday, European leaders proposed deploying a multinational force in Ukraine, and pledged to support Kiev’s decisions regarding the peace talks hosted by the German capital, Berlin, to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In a statement issued after a meeting they held in Berlin to discuss a peace plan proposed by Washington, European leaders affirmed their support for providing strong security guarantees to Ukraine within the framework of any agreement to end the war.

They also affirmed their strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, as well as their support for any decisions taken by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding specific Ukrainian issues during the peace talks.

The statement was issued after a meeting of European leaders in Berlin to discuss a proposed peace agreement, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Optimism

The European meeting comes amid optimistic statements about the nearness of reaching an agreement to end the bloody war between Russia and Ukraine. The German Chancellor stated – today, Monday – that the end of the Ukrainian war is on the horizon.

Mertz said in a post on the X website after hosting Ukrainian, European and American representatives in the latest round of peace talks in Berlin, “For the first time since the start of the war, the possibility of a ceasefire is conceivable. We want to follow the path of peace with the Ukrainians, our European neighbors and the United States.”

The European leaders’ statement called for the deployment of a multinational force in Ukraine with European leadership and American participation, and they proposed that it be 800,000 strong. European leaders indicated that this force would be composed of contributions from volunteer countries and supported by the United States.

According to the statement signed by the leaders of 10 European countries, including Germany, France, Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands, in addition to the European Union, the signatories agreed with the United States to “work together to provide solid security guarantees to Ukraine and support measures for economic recovery within the framework of an agreement aimed at putting an end to the war.”

The statement called on Moscow to show “its commitment to putting an end to the fighting by accepting a ceasefire.”

New penalties

In a related context, the European Union announced on Monday that it had imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals accused of supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, and that it had added 40 ships to the list of the “ghost fleet” that Moscow uses to transport fuel despite the sanctions.

A statement issued by the European Union Council explained that sanctions were imposed on 5 people and 4 entities for their role in facilitating the export of oil from Russia, sometimes using the “Ghost Fleet” ships designated to circumvent Western sanctions.

These persons and entities are directly or indirectly linked to the two large state oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, which are subject to US sanctions.

The European Union imposed sanctions on hundreds of oil tankers, which it classified as part of the Russian stealth fleet, and decided to add new ships monthly.

The Union also imposed sanctions on 12 people it accused of misinformation or spreading false news, including a French-Russian citizen named Xavier Moreau, who was described as “the Kremlin’s propaganda link in Europe,” according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.