European leaders propose ceasefire to test Putin's resolve

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that while peace is the goal, it cannot come at any cost without guarantees. He made this statement during the London meeting, where he joined other European leaders to discuss Ukraine and European security. The summit, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, also included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"European allies will develop a ceasefire plan in Ukraine and present it to Donald Trump", announced the UK Prime Minister after the summit in London. He emphasized that the starting point must be ensuring Ukraine's strongest position now. He added that "every agreement must be backed by strength."

"Europe has awakened," Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized before departing for London.

According to Gen. Roman Polko, former head of the special unit GROM, Europe currently has no choice and must bear the burden of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. "But it is waking up and gaining momentum slowly," commented the military expert in an interview.

"It's good that three years of war have changed the approach among European countries. We remember how Germany initially provided the Ukrainian army with helmets. Later, Berlin realized that a secure Ukraine means a secure Germany and a secure Europe. Although the UK is not in the European Union, it is taking action to strengthen the Old Continent," says Gen. Polko.

In his opinion, despite the "slow awakening of Europe," the summit in London produced an essential declaration that it's time to move from words to actions.

For Europe's security, it's important that all countries support Ukraine. If Poland is sent on a peacekeeping mission, it should not immediately say loudly that it will not send its soldiers. Unfortunately, due to the election campaign, we are placing ourselves in a bad position. Like other countries, we should think strategically several years ahead, says Gen. Polko.

Meanwhile, former head of the National Security Bureau, Gen. Stanisław Koziej, believes that it's not the "old" Europe awakening, meaning the European Union and NATO (recently paralyzed in part by Donald Trump's new doctrine and pro-Russian parties in some countries) but a new coalition for European security.

"The idea is to involve not only EU countries but also NATO and other countries willing to participate in such an alliance. These are the 'birth pains' of new security in Europe. Coalescing around the Ukrainian problem aims to strengthen our continent's defensive capabilities. Then Europe could be a strong partner for the United States. It's not about creating a counterbalance, but cooperation and partnership on equal terms," comments Gen. Koziej.

In his view, Europe must wake up because American policy towards the Old Continent has changed.

-The European Union can start to slowly build its defence capabilities by creating EU operational command centres. For this, it could use, for example, the Northeast Corps, managed by Poland, Denmark, and Germany," Gen. Koziej believes.

In an interview with "Le Figaro," President Macron stated that Paris and London are proposing to implement a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine, which would apply "in the air, at sea, and in the energy sector". In this form, as the French leader assessed, it would be relatively easy to monitor.

The truce would not, however, include ground fighting along the front line. Macron reminded that the current front line in Ukraine extends over a distance significantly exceeding 1,000 kilometres.

According to Macron, the deployment of European forces in Ukraine will come only after several weeks of negotiations on a ceasefire and the signing of peace.

Initially, reports indicated that British authorities supported the idea; however, skepticism arose in London on Monday. A British official, as quoted by the Financial Times, mentioned that while various options were under consideration in discussions with U.S. and European partners, no agreement had been reached regarding a one-month truce.

In the opinion of Gen. Polko, the proposal for a one-month ceasefire is a good one.

- It's testing any goodwill on Putin's part. And an alternative to what Trump is doing. So far, he is negotiating peace from a position of strength, both with Ukraine and Europe. He demands numerous concessions from Kyiv. And there is no answer to the question of what Russia could concede. Additionally, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says there will be no agreement, and the Kremlin does not agree to a European military peacekeeping contingent," recalls the former head of the GROM special unit.

In his view, if peace is to be ultimately achieved, it is not an undue demand to suspend military activities for a month.

- Europe tells Putin: I call. This is a good move, considering that Russia has no intention of pulling back from its demands and wants to regain the sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union, while Putin shows no willingness to concede, he adds.

Gen. Polko also notes that "he is surprised by Trump's words, who trusts the Russian dictator." - There has been no goodwill gesture from the Kremlin so far. There are only demands. Putin has never respected Europe as one strong organism. He preferred to create divisions, talk separately with individual countries, and then he won. When Europe is united and speaks with one voice, Putin is weak, sums up Gen. Polko.

Gen. Koziej speaks in a similar tone.

- The Paris proposal is a good, logical step. If Putin agreed to a ceasefire, then in a month a coalition of European countries would be organized with a contingent and an armistice would be signed. However, I don't believe that the Russian leader would agree to this. But it's worth putting such a proposal on the table. Waiting for Putin's opinion on the matter is crucial to determine whether he truly wants to end the war or if he never had such an intention to begin with, , says the former head of BBN.