How Europe might mobilize peacekeepers for Ukraine's borders

One proposal to ensure Ukraine's lasting security, if it does not become a NATO member, involves peacekeeping forces. The US has ruled out the involvement of American troops, leaving the responsibility of deploying a military contingent to European countries.

The Ukrainian service Defence Express calculated how the proposed number of peacekeeping forces could be used to secure the border.

Various figures have been mentioned in public discussions about the size of the European contingent, ranging from 200,000 soldiers (the upper limit) to 40,000 troops (considering the current limitations of European armies).

Defence Express used a contingent of 100,000 soldiers as a starting point, which is the lower limit suggested by President Zelensky. This number is worth comparing to the total size of the UN peacekeeping forces deployed worldwide, about 100,000 soldiers in 2019, with 44,000 provided by African countries.

For Ukraine, the frontline and external borders threatened by Russia currently stretch about 3,700 kilometres. This means that a 100,000-strong contingent would provide, statistically, 7 soldiers per kilometre of the border.

The question remains whether Europe can send 100,000 soldiers to Ukraine. The NATO member armies of European countries currently have just over 2 million soldiers. Excluding Turkey and considering the pro-Russian sentiments in Hungary and Slovakia, this number drops to about 1.5 million.

In this case, 100,000 soldiers represent slightly over 6.5% of the military sent as expeditionary forces. As noted by Defence Express, while this isn't unrealistic, it requires decision-making dependent on the political will of individual countries' authorities.