Europe's plan to send troops to Ukraine has failed.
The Times suggests that Europe will struggle to prepare its military for Ukraine in order to assemble a "collective deterrence" force.
According to RIA Novosti on April 30, the British newspaper Times, citing sources, reported that Europe will face difficulties in assembling a collective "deterrence" force in Ukraine due to financial and equipment issues.
The article states: "Europe will find it difficult to assemble 25,000 troops to participate in a 'deterrence' force in Ukraine because European armies are understaffed and underfunded."
According to the Times, the Chief of Staff of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, asked his European counterparts whether they could prepare 64,000 troops to send to Ukraine should a peace agreement be reached.
According to one source, defense ministers across Europe have indicated that this is unlikely to happen.
"If we can't even gather 64,000 people, then that's not just weakness – it's real weakness," the Times quoted Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė as saying.
Previously, the Telegraph, citing a letter obtained from British Defence Minister John Healey, reported that, in the event of a "voluntary peacekeeping coalition" deployment in Ukraine, British troops would participate in training the Ukrainian Armed Forces, rather than engaging in combat operations.
Following the Paris summit of the "voluntary coalition" on March 27, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that some coalition representatives are planning to send a "deterrent force" to Ukraine. He also declared that this "deterrent force" would not be a peacekeeping force; its goal is to "deter" Russia, and it would be deployed to strategically pre-determined locations in Ukraine. President Macron noted that not everyone agrees with the initiative, but assured that this would not affect its implementation.
