Von der Leyen: Europe has «a very explicit plan» to send troops to Ukraine after the war

Tusk and von der Leyen visit the Polish border with Belarus. The photo is illustrative: Artur Reszko

European capitals are already working on «fairly explicit plans» for the potential deployment of troops in Ukraine after the war with Russia ends.

This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to her, there is a «clear roadmap» agreed in Washington, which provides for a multinational deployment of European forces with the support of the United States.

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«Security guarantees are key and absolutely essential,» she stressed.

Von der Leyen said that the defence ministries of the «Coalition of the Willing» have already worked out the practical details, including the structure and provision of future military contingents. However, the final decisions will be made by the states themselves, because, as Von der Leyen noted, «sending troops is one of the most important sovereign decisions of a country».

The force is expected to include tens of thousands of European troops, and the United States will provide command and control systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities. According to the President of the European Commission, this concept was discussed in Washington last month by US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a number of European leaders. The talks are scheduled to continue this week in Paris at the initiative of Emmanuel Macron.

Von der Leyen also stressed that after the signing of the peace agreement, Ukraine will need «a significant number of troops with adequate funding and modern weapons», and it is the EU that should ensure stable funding for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

«The nature of the war has completely changed», she said, stressing the need for European armies to invest in drones, missile defence, space and cyber capabilities.

Earlier, the European Commission's resident Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Bulgaria that Bulgaria provided one third of the EU's weapons to Ukraine.