France Mulls Sending Peacekeepers to Ukraine Under UN Auspices

French President Emmanuel Macron is exploring the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine under United Nations auspices, The Telegraph reports.

According to the outlet, the proposal is seen as an alternative to a previous plan developed in cooperation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Macron discussed the idea with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a European Council meeting on March 20. However, The Telegraph did not report Guterres’ response.

At the same time, The Telegraph notes that any deployment of UN peacekeeping forces would require approval from the UN Security Council, where Russia and potentially the United States could veto the initiative.

Therefore, in this view, “the prospects seem insignificant,” because Russia and, possibly, the United States will be against it.

Following recent U.S.-Russia negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine—talks that excluded European and Ukrainian representatives—France convened an emergency meeting with EU leaders.

One of the key points of contention was the potential deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine to monitor a ceasefire. This was the main dispute of the meeting.

Macron proposed positioning peacekeepers behind a future demarcation line rather than directly on it.

The idea was immediately opposed by Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland. In contrast, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed the UK’s willingness to send troops to Ukraine.

The UK is also prepared to take a leading role in providing air cover for any international peacekeeping mission.

According to sources, the Royal Air Force could deploy Eurofighter Typhoon or F-35 fighter jets for this purpose.