MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged that he still does not understand how many countries in the so-called coalition of the willing are prepared to send military contingents to Ukraine.
"We still don’t know how many countries are ready to put ‘boots on the ground.’ Around 30 states in the coalition of the willing are considering joining the security guarantees. Some may patrol the skies with aircraft for a limited time, while others, bound by neutrality or other restrictions, will likely contribute only financially," Zelensky said, as quoted by the UNIAN news agency at a meeting with reporters.
According to the head of the Kiev regime, there was a "signal from Washington" that the US would take part in security guarantees for Ukraine. Without American coordination, he noted, European partners were hesitant. "One country may say, ‘We are ready to do this,’ and even present a list of commitments. But it always comes with a caveat, only if there is US presence or coordination," he explained.
Kiev has repeatedly stated that it wants a full-fledged military contingent from partner countries to be deployed on Ukrainian territory, rather than peacekeeping missions, such as those from the UN or OSCE. However, there is still no consensus on the actions, powers, and deployment of these military contingents or which countries are prepared to send them.
On March 27, a summit of the so-called coalition of the willing was held in Paris, where representatives of about 30 countries discussed possible security guarantees for Kiev after the conclusion of the Ukrainian conflict. One of the main topics was the potential deployment of military contingents in Ukraine. The US did not participate in the event. Meanwhile, media outlets reported that several countries are willing to participate in the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine only if they have Washington's support.
In an interview with TASS, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu stated that the coalition was planning to send military forces to Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly stated that the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, under any flag or capacity, threatens Russia and is unacceptable to Moscow.