Western troops in Ukraine could repel Russia — Merz
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that, if necessary, Western troops deployed on Ukrainian territory would be able to resist a possible new Russian aggression.
He said this in an interview with ZDF.
According to Merz, this is not about directly involving NATO in the war, but about creating a reliable deterrence mechanism that would force the Kremlin to consider the consequences of any further offensive.
Merz emphasized that such steps are viewed exclusively as an element of security guarantees for Kyiv after a possible peace agreement.
The politician stressed that even if agreements with Moscow are reached, Ukraine will need strong armed forces and real international security guarantees for many years. According to him, the key “insurance policy” should be a well-equipped Ukrainian army capable of independently deterring renewed aggression.
That is why Europe is already discussing the future size of Ukraine’s military, which, in the opinion of a number of countries, should reach up to 800,000 service members.
Merz noted that discussions on the parameters of security guarantees are being held with the participation of the United States, where the administration of President Donald Trump had proposed other, lower figures for the size of Ukrainian forces in a previous version of a peace plan.
European partners, according to the chancellor, insisted that the upper limit should be higher so that the guarantees do not remain merely on paper.
In this context, the future deployment of Western contingents is being considered as one of the possible additional tools to deter Russia.
Earlier, Merz called on the EU to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
