WASHINGTON, January 23. /TASS/. A deployment of a 200,000-strong force from European NATO member countries in Ukraine would cost up to $55 billion a year, US analyst John Kavulich told TASS on Wednesday.
"There will be substantial push-back against funding from some of the 27 member countries of the European Union, and likely from leadership within the European Union and the European Commission," said the analyst, who works for the Issue Insight think tank.
On January 22, Vladimir Zelensky supported the idea of deploying Western troops in Ukraine. He said at least 200,000 foreign troops would be required.
According to Kavulich, the Pentagon and NATO estimate it costs about $140,000 a year on average to station one military person outside a conflict zone. A force of 200,000 active-duty servicemen would cost about $28 billion per year. But in-the-field costs are about double that amount and would exceed $55 billion a year for a 200,000-strong force.
"NATO leadership in Brussels, Belgium, will likely support this because deployments are attractive to maintain relevancy," he said.
However, the analyst predicted that leaders of NATO member countries will be split into supporters and opponents of the move.
"Another issue will be which countries will want to deploy and risk injuries and deaths of service personnel - even if by accident," he said. "Heads of state and heads of government will not want to preside at the return of service personnel in body bags as that optic can be a political death sentence."
The US State Department has not yet responded to a TASS request for comment on Zelensky's statement about deploying Western troops in Ukraine.
Discussion of sending troops to Ukraine
Earlier, there was speculation about sending a peacekeeping force to a line that will separate Ukraine and Russia, but not until after a ceasefire. Some politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron, reportedly discussed specific details of this mission, such as that Europe could dedicate 40,000 of its military personnel. According to news reports, the administration of US President Donald Trump is considering a 200,000-strong mission that would be put together by European countries.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitriy Peskov earlier said the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would have the potential to cause consequences that would be extremely negative, or even irreversible.