West must arm Ukraine before discussing peacekeepers - Finnish President

He outlined the first priority for the Ukraine's allies for now.

"Since there is now no peace in Ukraine, the West must primarily focus on providing Ukraine with the necessary weapons," Stubb said.

"Any peacekeeping operation would require a UN mandate," he added.

When asked what message he would send to Russia, Stubb replied, “Withdraw your troops.”

NATO troops in Ukraine

After the conference in Paris on Feb. 26 supporting Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine’s Western allies would form a coalition to supply long-range weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He also noted that the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future could not be ruled out.

Several NATO countries publicly rejected Macron’s idea of sending troops to Ukraine, including Poland, the US, Germany, Czechia, Canada, and the UK.

According to Le Monde, discussions about sending troops were renewed in November 2024 following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections.

On Dec. 3, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing a senior NATO official who wished to remain anonymous, reported that France and the UK were exploring options to ensure Ukraine’s security in case of peace negotiations with Russia. One option includes stationing troops from both countries along a demarcation line to monitor compliance with a ceasefire.

On Dec. 12, Rzeczpospolita revealed details of a possible peacekeeping mission proposed by France to protect Ukraine. The core of the proposal is to create a peacekeeping force that can guarantee the Kremlin does not violate a future ceasefire or the agreed demarcation line.

The mission could consist of five brigades, totaling around 40,000 soldiers, with Poland potentially taking command of one of them.

On Dec. 17, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany could participate in ensuring a future ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine but added that it was too early to discuss the specific format of peacekeeping forces.