FT: European allies discuss NATO’s involvement in Ukraine security mission

NATO may take on a crucial role in supporting a proposed European military mission aimed at guaranteeing a future peace deal in Ukraine, under plans currently being developed by a coalition of Kyiv’s Western allies.

Discussions, led by France and the UK, are exploring the use of NATO’s command and control structures for the deployment of a so-called reassurance force in Ukraine. According to five officials familiar with the talks, cited by the Financial Times, this force would also leverage NATO’s shared intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to enhance its effectiveness, per Caliber.Az.

The proposal is still under discussion and could undergo changes before any final agreement is reached, the officials said.

A key motivation behind involving NATO is to ensure indirect US participation in the initiative, even though former President Donald Trump has made it clear that he will not support any European-led mission directly. Given the integral role of US military assets in all NATO operations in Europe, supporters of the proposal see NATO’s involvement as a way to secure Washington’s tacit backing.

“If we are going to deploy assets from dozens of countries [to Ukraine], then NATO is really the only [command and control] option that we can use,” one official noted.

The primary goal of the reassurance force is to demonstrate Europe’s long-term commitment to Ukraine’s security in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, while also serving as a deterrent against future aggression from Moscow.

The talks, which involve leaders and ministers from around 30 countries, have consistently emphasized the importance of some form of US “backstop” for any deployment. While the US is not formally part of the coalition, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has participated in the discussions and has sent senior NATO officials to technical-level meetings. Next week, NATO’s Brussels headquarters will host a meeting of coalition defense ministers to continue negotiations on the mission.

One official noted the importance of military expertise in shaping the mission, saying, “Politicians and diplomats don’t really know what it means to actually run something like this. You need the military guys there from the outset.”

Currently, Britain and France are the only European nations with the necessary command and control facilities, including standing and deployable headquarters, to manage a large-scale multinational military operation in Ukraine. According to Ben Barry, a senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), “If you can make use of NATO assets and mechanisms, it is going to make it a lot simpler and easier.”

A recent IISS study concluded that the UK, France, and their partners could assemble and sustain a medium-sized force of 10,000 to 25,000 personnel, supported by air power and naval assets. However, the mission would be significantly weaker without US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

“Without US ISR, it would be at much greater risk, and its ability to detect threats would go down,” Barry warned.

NATO also operates its own fleets of E-3 AWACS early warning aircraft and aerial refueling planes—critical assets that European forces would require for a prolonged or large-scale mission in Ukraine. While NATO’s structures and assets have been used for non-NATO missions, including EU-led operations, their deployment would require unanimous approval from all alliance members.

Despite the potential benefits of NATO’s involvement, some members of the coalition are hesitant to involve the alliance in the final proposal due to Trump’s opposition to any form of engagement in Ukraine after securing a ceasefire.

Italy, for example, has suggested that the United Nations could take the lead in coordinating peacekeeping operations instead. However, this idea has been met with resistance from other nations that are wary of Russia and China’s ability to veto decisions in the UN Security Council.

By Tamilla Hasanova