Sources in the British government and the Royal Air Force have told The Times that Britain may deploy Typhoon fighter jets to patrol the skies over Ukraine after the war ends and a peace agreement is signed.
London is reportedly considering setting up an “air police” mission similar to the NATO program that has protected the airspace of the Baltic states since 2004.
One of the sources told The Times that this option was more likely than establishing a no-fly zone over the country, which would require aircraft to patrol the skies over Ukraine 24 hours a day.
Dozens of “heavily armed” fighter jets, planned to be stationed in Poland and ready to take off at any time, are expected to take part in this “police mission.”
According to The Times, this solution could be part of the security guarantees for Ukraine and allow for a smaller military contingent to be brought in to monitor compliance with the peace agreements on the ground.
This would require the UK to deploy a significant number of aircraft and air defense systems.
“We are prepared to do whatever we are told to do,” said The Times’ source in the Royal Air Force, adding that discussions on the matter were still at an early stage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously stated that his country needs 100,000 European peacekeepers to prevent Russia from attacking again after the end of the military conflict.
According to The Washington Post, however, the European Union (EU) is only able to send 25,000 to 30,000 troops.
Germany, Italy, and Poland doubted the appropriateness of this decision, while France suggested that the peacekeepers should not be sent to the line of contact with the Russian army, but to the rear of Ukraine, where they would train soldiers and supply the Ukrainian army.
US President Donald Trump supported the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine but emphasized that there would be no US contingent.
In the first official talks between the US and Russia since the start of the military intervention in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed Moscow’s dissatisfaction with the proposals for the deployment of European forces in Ukraine.
Lavrov said that the Russian side conveyed to the American officials that the appearance of NATO troops on the territory of Ukraine, even “under a foreign flag, the flag of the European Union or national flags,” is unacceptable.