Belgium prepares military contingent for Ukraine: security guarantees details.

According to FREEДOM:

Call for faster strengthening of security guarantees

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Western partners to expedite the process of formulating security guarantees for Ukraine. He emphasized that the defense aspect of these guarantees should be worked out as soon as possible. Experts from the FREEdom publication analyzed what Kyiv can count on after the war with Russia.

Belgium ready to send troops

Belgium has stated its readiness to deploy its troops in Ukraine after the war, reported the country's Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot.

'We are ready to participate in international forces with an international mandate. This is also important. I am discussing this issue with the government, including with my colleague, the Minister of Defense, to determine what military support we can provide. But we are ready to engage when necessary,' he emphasized.

Support from the USA and Europe

After the meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine and the USA, as well as European leaders in Washington, on August 18, about 10 countries expressed their readiness to send troops to Ukraine as part of the security guarantees package.

'It is not for me to decide and speak about boots on the ground. I think it is important that they are from major countries, leading participants of the 'coalition of willing.' That matters. The presence of troops on the ground is an important factor,' said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

Options for international forces

The New York Times noted three possible options for deploying international forces in Ukraine. One of the concepts involves creating a full contingent that would complement the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

'The second option is stretch forces - significantly smaller in number. They will not be able to ensure serious defense, but the theory is that the Russians will not agree to risk killing Europeans of non-Ukrainian origin during the resumption of the invasion. The third option is the creation of 'observer forces.' They could be small, numbering several hundred soldiers. Essentially, their task would be to report on future military actions,' the publication writes.

The US position on troops in Ukraine

The USA does not plan to send its troops to Ukraine, but may provide media support to European contingents, particularly in air support.

'First of all, Europe must provide Ukraine with significant security guarantees, and it needs to do so because it is close. But we will be involved in terms of support, we will help them. If we reach an agreement, and I believe we will, we will support these guarantees because I want the killing to stop,' said US President Donald Trump.

The necessity of legally binding guarantees

In Ukraine, it is emphasized that any future security guarantees must be legally binding, not just political declarations. This is due to historical experience. In 1994, the Ukrainian leadership signed the Budapest memorandum, which provided for the transfer of weapons to Russia in exchange for security guarantees that were later violated. Now Kyiv insists on legally binding guarantees.

'We all share the belief that the Ukrainian army is a cornerstone element of any such guarantees, so its maximum strengthening is our primary task. It is important that the security guarantees we are talking about have a legally binding nature. This is fundamental, this is foundational,' said Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga.

Preliminary concept of guarantees

All these proposals are currently only a preliminary concept of security guarantees for Ukraine.

'You see how quickly the process we are working on is moving, and it is moving very, very fast. We hope to reach a point where we will soon receive, for lack of a better term, security guarantees,' confirmed the Special Representative of the US President for Ukraine Issues Keith Kellogg.

All these issues are being discussed by advisors from national security and representatives of NATO from more than 30 countries, including European states, Australia, and Japan. More detailed discussions on guarantees for Ukraine will be possible after the project is finalized and implemented as a document.

Earlier, Finnish President Alexander Stubb emphasized that Russia will not dictate to Europe or the USA what to do regarding security guarantees for Ukraine.