Defence chiefs meet on special Ukraine force

Ukrainian rescuers at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv. Pic/AFP

Britain and France are convening a meeting of defence ministers from around 30 countries on Thursday to press ahead with plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to police any future peace agreement with Russia.

The meeting at NATO headquarters - the first between defence ministers representing the so-called coalition of the willing - comes after a visit to Kyiv last week by senior British and French military officers. It's expected to work on fleshing out an agreement reached at an earlier meeting between leaders.

Amid that uncertainty and US warnings that Europe must take care of its own security and that of Ukraine in future, the force is seen as a first test of the continent's willingness to defend itself and its interests. The contingent is unlikely to be stationed at Ukraine's border with Russia. It would be located further from the ceasefire line, perhaps even outside Ukraine, and deploy to counter any Russian attack. UK officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops.

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