UK, France pledge ‘reassurance force’ for Ukraine after Russia ceasefire

The UK and France will establish ‘military hubs’ in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.Published On 6 Jan 2026Key European allies pledged to send a “reassurance force” to Ukraine in a move described as a significant step in the effort to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a declaration of intent on Tuesday for the deployment of multinational forces to support Kyiv’s defence and reconstruction – if a ceasefire with Russia is agreed on.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Ukraine’s top allies meet in Paris to push for Kyiv’s security guaranteeslist 2 of 4Over 400,000 Russians killed, wounded for 0.8 percent of Ukraine in 2025list 3 of 4Trump spurns Kremlin’s Putin residence attack claim, Russia kills 2 in Kyivlist 4 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,412end of listThe announcement follows a meeting of more than two dozen countries in Paris. The nations dubbed the “coalition of the willing” have explored for months how to deter any future Russian aggression should it agree to stop fighting Ukraine.There was no immediate response from Russia, however. President Vladimir Putin has ruled out any deployment of troops from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil.Kyiv has long said it cannot be safe without guarantees that are comparable to the NATO alliance’s ‍mutual defence agreement Article 5 to deter Russia from attacking again.Zelenskyy welcomed the promised security guarantees for Ukraine.“It’s important that today the coalition has substantive documents. These are not just words. There is concrete content: a joint declaration by all the coalition countries and a trilateral declaration by France, Britain, and Ukraine,” he said.“It has been defined how those forces will be managed and at what levels command will be exercised,” Zelensky added.Macron said “several thousand” French soldiers could be deployed to Ukraine to maintain peace.