PARIS, February 27. /TASS/. France is exploring several options for providing security guarantees to Ukraine beyond deploying a so-called peacekeeping contingent. These include boosting military production within Ukraine and establishing stockpiles of weapons to prepare for a potential resumption of hostilities, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said in an interview with Franceinfo radio.

"There are several potential levels of security guarantees being discussed and considered. These range from economic interests to joint weapons production inside Ukraine. I also believe the question of creating weapon stockpiles in Europe, possibly funded by Europeans for Ukraine, will arise to prevent a resurgence of conflict. We have stockpiles of ammunition for X months that we can immediately send to Ukraine, and this is an idea we plan to put on the table for various European countries to consider," the minister said.

Lecornu declined to comment on media reports about plans to send 30,000 Western troops to Ukraine as a "peacekeeping contingent." He emphasized that deploying troops to Poland and deploying them to Ukrainian territory were "not the same thing." Lecornu explained that discussions on this topic were continuing, with the primary focus remaining on supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities. "The best security guarantee for Ukraine is its own army," he added.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer might present a draft plan to Donald Trump on February 27 for deploying British and French peacekeepers to Ukraine. According to the report, London and Paris would seek firepower support from Washington, if their peacekeepers were in danger. The plan reportedly involves deploying ground forces, as well as air and naval units.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, responding to a TASS question, stated that Russia viewed the idea of deploying European peacekeepers to Ukraine negatively. He described it as a potential step toward escalation.