PARIS, March 28. /TASS/. EU countries believe that sending a European military contingent to Ukraine is impossible without US support, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson reported.

"This is one of the conclusions we have come to," he said in response to a related question from Le Figaro. According to the minister, all discussions regarding the possible deployment of EU forces in Ukraine "are still at a preliminary stage, as no peace agreement has been concluded yet."

Johnson noted that in order for a military contingent to be sent, several conditions must be met. First, there must be "a clear definition of [states'] participation format in this mission." Second, NATO's command in Europe must "assess the impact of this mission on the alliance's activities." Third, the mission must involve "US participation, even if its format is not yet finalized."

French President Emmanuel Macron previously stated that the potential deployment of military forces to Ukraine for alleged peacekeeping tasks had not received unanimous support from the participants of the "coalition of the willing" summit in Paris on March 27. He added that the mission's format had not yet been agreed upon. Macron acknowledged that the "support force" concept would require further discussions. So far, he said, only the need to deploy troops in "critical" or "strategically important" locations for Kiev has been agreed upon with the Ukrainian side. The number of troops, their equipment, and their area of operation are still to be discussed by the chiefs of general staff of the French and British Armed Forces.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on March 12 that the presence of NATO troops under any flag and in any capacity on Ukrainian soil would pose a threat to Russia. He stressed that Moscow would not accept this under any circumstances.

On February 23, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the US military would not be deployed on Ukrainian territory. The Pentagon chief emphasized that Europe should take the lead in ensuring the continent's security.