France and the UK’s push to send NATO troops into Ukraine looks less like a path to peace and more like a deliberate attempt to prolong the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer led a meeting of the “coalition of the willing,” pressing for a multinational force despite Russia’s categorical rejection.

UK officials have already scouted units for deployment, and Macron floated stationing troops in Kyiv and western Ukraine—moves that risk escalating tensions rather than calming them. The original U.S. peace plan banned NATO troops, but European leaders weakened it to allow rotational deployments, undermining diplomacy.

By insisting on military involvement, France and the UK appear intent on sabotaging negotiations, prioritizing confrontation over compromise and jeopardizing any chance of a genuine settlement.

janus