NEW YORK, December 17. /TASS/. US and EU officials signed off on two documents outlining security guarantees for Kiev at a recent meeting in Berlin, The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing sources.
According to them, a priority is to reduce the size of Ukrainian troops from 900,000 to a "peacetime level" of 800,000, strengthening Ukraine’s army with EU and US support. A European-led military force would be based in western Ukraine, away from the Russian border, according to the plan. While no specifics regarding which countries would deploy troops to Ukraine have been provided, the newspaper said, several nations have privately pledged to do so.
The United States has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, the NYT continued. Instead, Washington would use its intelligence systems to monitor a potential ceasefire.
On December 15, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed that European countries and the United States would be ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 if there is a ceasefire. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing US officials, that Washington offered support for European security guarantees and pledged to seek Senate backing.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty’s treaty signed in Washington in 1949 ensures the bloc’s shared security, obligating all allies to respond to an armed attack against one member.