Though this would be obviously attractive to Russia, which said on Tuesday it will not accept any troops from a Nato country being stationed in Ukraine, it would be unacceptable to Kyiv, which fears a renewed attack from Moscow and wants as large a postwar security force as possible.
Though Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, ruled out any Nato countries providing an assurance force to Ukraine on Tuesday, the US said last week that it wants the future security of Ukraine to be led by Europe.
John Healey, the defence secretary, echoed language used by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Monday when he said that any European security force would require some degree of US support to deter further Russian aggression.
On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the size of a European force under discussion could amount to about 30,000 and while UK sources would not confirm this figure while talks were under way with Europe they did indicate that a force of this magnitude was most likely envisaged.
A European-led assurance force for Ukraine would not necessarily involve large numbers stationed on the frontline, defence sources indicated on Tuesday, and could therefore be in the region of a few tens of thousands strong – or even less.
