Trump’s Peace Plan: European Troops in Ukraine Without U.S. Involvement – Will It Work?

President-elect Donald Trump has proposed deploying European troops as part of a strategy to manage the ceasefire and post-war situation in Ukraine.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s early war termination plan is beginning to take shape as his inauguration approaches. During a trilateral meeting last week at the Élysée Palace in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump stated that while he does not support Ukraine’s NATO membership, he envisions a strong, well-armed Ukraine emerging after the conflict.

Trump emphasized that Europe should lead Ukraine’s defense and support. He proposed stationing European forces in Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire. Sources familiar with the talks revealed that while Trump left open the possibility of U.S. support for a ceasefire agreement, he ruled out direct American military involvement.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump boldly claimed he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. However, since his election, he has not disclosed specific details on how he would achieve this.

Instead, his advisors have discussed postponing Ukraine’s NATO membership and implementing a ceasefire that would essentially freeze the current front lines. The proposal to station European troops in Ukraine appears to be a more concrete elaboration of this plan.

According to sources, the Wall Street Journal reports that the European forces deployed to Ukraine would likely form part of a non-NATO-affiliated peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring mission. However, significant challenges remain, including determining which European nations would contribute troops, the deployment size, the nature of U.S. support for the ceasefire agreement, and whether Russia would accept such an arrangement.