Yesterday at 22:20
France and the United Kingdom intend to increase the number of expeditionary forces to 50,000 people for future deployment in Ukraine as part of a “coalition of the willing”.
This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron, Le Figaro reports.
We are raising the level of this joint force from a brigade to an army corps, that is, up to 50,000 people who can be involved in major operations,” he told Macron during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Northwood military base.
According to Macron, these troops, which can be “increased fivefold” from the current number, will have a backbone formed around France and the United Kingdom and “capable of uniting other European partners.”
According to the French president, the CJEF partnership “will add reliability and strength to NATO’s European pillar at the operational level, and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.”
According to Le Figaro, the Elysee Palace, the CJEF force will now be called the Joint French-British Force and is already playing “an important role in organizing the ‘coalition of the willing’.
“It includes about thirty countries that can deploy forces to enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine once it is in place to deter Russia from launching a new offensive,” the officials said.
In addition, the CJEF force could become “the planning core of a security guarantee force that could be deployed in Ukraine as part of a ceasefire when it is concluded,” the Elysee Palace concluded.
As a reminder, the Coalition of the Willing is an association of European states that have pledged to support Ukraine in the event of a full-scale war. The initiative envisages, among other things, the possible deployment of a peacekeeping contingent. The creation of the coalition was announced on March 2, 2025, by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
