With the possibility of American disengagement from Ukraine following Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Paris and London are not ruling out leading a military coalition in Ukraine.

The UK and France are considering the idea of deploying European military forces to Ukraine to fight Russia directly according to a report from the French Newspaper Le Monde on Monday.

“As the conflict in Ukraine enters a new phase of escalation, discussions over sending Western troops and private defense companies to Ukraine have been revived

Le Monde reports: These are sensitive discussions, most of which are classified – relaunched in light of a potential American withdrawal of support for Kyiv once Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.

The debate about sending troops to Ukraine, which French President Emmanuel Macron initiated at a meeting between Kyiv’s allies in Paris in February, was strongly opposed by some European countries, led by Germany. However, it was relaunched in recent weeks thanks to the visit to France of the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, for the November 11^th commemorations. “Discussions are underway between the UK and France on defense cooperation, particularly with a view to creating a hard core of allies in Europe, focused on Ukraine and wider European security,” confided a British military source to Le Monde.