MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. A coalition of European countries is developing and discussing several scenarios for a ground operation in Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Wieslaw Kukula told the PAP news agency.
"Several versions of the operation are in the works, depending on how peace talks on Ukraine unfold," he said.
In his words, general staffs of European countries will be involved in the planning.
"We [chiefs of European general staffs] have outlined our recommendations, cooperation parameters and possible scenarios. Now we are handing them over to planning bodies, namely to general staffs, who are in charge of operation planning and potential interaction," he said.
He reiterated that Poland will not send its troops to Ukraine as part of such an operation. At the same time, he admitted that a mission of this kind would be impossible without Warsaw’s involvement. This support would include logistical services and military training.
"We may provide a very broad range of opportunities, first of all related to stationing of troops <…> and their logistical support, and can also offer training facilities, be it to train Ukrainian troops or maintain combat readiness of forces that will guarantee stability and peace," Kukula said.
On March 15, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an online meeting following a summit on Ukraine that military commanders from nations he dubbed the "coalition of the willing" would meet in London on March 20 to discuss the operational details of sending troops to Ukraine. The UK prime minister pointed out that a number of countries had made commitments to participate in the so-called peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, without revealing any details of the arrangements.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia will view the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil as a threat, regardless of their flag or mission. In his words, under no circumstances will Russia tolerate this.