NATO military chief: talk of foreign troop deployment in Ukraine is premature

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the Head of NATO’s Military Committee, on Saturday said discussions about deploying foreign military contingents in Ukraine remained premature, despite ongoing European diplomatic efforts to secure post-war security guarantees.

“We know that some countries have raised the issue of troops, possibly even bilaterally. But I repeat, this is still at a very early stage”, Dragone noted.

He stressed that security guarantees defined by politicians must shape the broader context, including key questions such as: who decides whether an agreement has been violated, who develops the rules of engagement, whether the contingent should only observe or also defend itself, and with what weapons.

“Nothing is certain. In my region, I do not even know whether soldiers are actually available. Someone may even consider sending troops from non-NATO countries. Everything is open. But one point is firm: NATO remains committed above all to protecting the citizens of its member states”, Dragone said.

Meanwhile, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which includes 30 states, has expressed readiness to provide Ukraine with security guarantees. Members of the Coalition have already declared their willingness to deploy deterrence forces on Ukrainian territory.

US President Donald Trump confirmed Washington would join the guarantees but insisted that European states must play the leading role in their implementation. While not ruling out the possibility of US air support for Ukraine, Trump has categorically opposed sending American troops.

Moscow has demanded that China also join the security guarantees. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, said Beijing cannot act as a guarantor. According to Welt, a German national daily newspaper, China might consider sending troops to Ukraine, but only under a UN mandate.