The UK and France continue to strategize despite a lack of US support for the proposed mission

Doubts are growing over a Franco-British initiative to deploy troops from NATO states to Ukraine following a potential truce with Russia, anonymous officials told the Financial Times. One European source described the plan as "dead."

France and the UK are the leading powers in the 'coalition of the willing', advocating a Western military force intended to serve as a security guarantee for Kiev. Moscow has maintained that it will not tolerate any NATO presence in Ukraine under any circumstances.

The US has turned down a European request to provide a "backstop" for the mission, with President Donald Trump arguing that America should never have been involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the first place. According to the FT article published on Monday, the official cited as a source said it is "preposterous without the help of Trump, and he's not willing to provide it."

A French diplomat disputed this assessment, calling it "totally untrue," saying 'coalition' members are continuing their planning "at normal pace." The FT suggested that European efforts are aimed at bolstering morale in Kiev, demonstrating commitment to Trump, and trying to influence US-supported peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.

This month, Russia and Ukraine resumed direct peace talks, which Kiev abandoned in 2022 to pursue victory on the battlefield instead. The first round of renewed dialogue led to the largest prisoner exchange between the two countries since the conflict escalated more than three years ago. Moscow is preparing a draft memorandum that includes a conditional ceasefire as part of a road map to a peaceful resolution.

Kiev has accused Moscow of lacking goodwill by refusing a 30-day unconditional pause in the fighting - a demand Russia has dismissed as a tactic to gain military advantage. Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-rangestrikesdeep into Russian territory in recent weeks. The Russian military said on Wednesday that it shot down 296 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over a ten-hour period overnight.

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky said on Tuesday the increase in attacks is a mirror response to Russian operations. Moscow has recently launched several strikes inside Ukraine, reportedly targeting a major kamikaze drone facility in Kiev and other military sites.

(RT.com)