Western troops are to be stationed in Ukraine immediately after the start of the ceasefire demanded by Russia. What Moscow had claimed has now been confirmed by Belgian Defence Minister Francken

Belgium's defence minister has now confirmed what Moscow had claimed: Western troops are to be stationed in Ukraine ‘immediately’ after the start of the ceasefire demanded by Russia – the temporary silence of the guns serves to escalate the situation. Kiev sees ‘no room for compromise’ in negotiations with Moscow.

Together with Kiev, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and other EU states had demanded a 30-day ‘unconditional’ ceasefire from Moscow two weeks ago. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had announced a ‘massive’ expansion of military support for Ukraine if Moscow did not back down. But Russia let the ultimatum expire.