[Jimbuna]

France and Britain believe deployment of Western troops in Ukraine is still possible - FT

France and the United Kingdom believe that the plan to deploy a foreign contingent in Ukraine after the end of hostilities is still possible.

This was reported by the Financial Times newspaper, citing sources, Censor.NET reports.

"As Washington's commitment to Ukraine's security seems to be waning, French, British and German leaders are increasingly divided over how much military support can be provided to Ukraine after the war," the article says.

Thus, France and Britain, the two initiators of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, insist that the original plan to deploy troops to Ukraine is still feasible.

Other countries, including Germany, are more skeptical, as the US still has not promised to support the contingent.

The FT's sources say that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron continue to support the troop proposal to keep Europe engaged in ceasefire talks and to keep Ukrainian morale up.

They also want to demonstrate their commitment to US President Donald Trump.

One European official said that the troop plan is "dead" because it is "absurd without Trump's help, and he is unwilling to provide it."

However, a French diplomat denied that reports of the proposal's failure were "not only greatly exaggerated" but "absolutely untrue," adding that the countries were still working on plans "at a normal pace." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3554663

Kremlin on lifting long-range strike restrictions for Ukraine: This is serious escalation

The Kremlin labeled the decision by several countries to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons for long-range strikes as "a serious escalation."

This was stated by the spokesman for the Russian dictator, Dmitry Peskov, according to Russian media, as reported by Censor.NET.

"One way or another, if this is true, it constitutes an escalation — a serious escalation," Peskov said.

As a reminder, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently announced that the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States have lifted restrictions on the supply of military equipment to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil denied any change in the German government’s policy regarding the range limitations on Western weapons used to strike Russian territory. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3554642