Germany Merz wants to help secure Ukraine ceasefire
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has held out the prospect of German military involvement in securing a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. "This could include, for example, deploying forces for Ukraine on neighboring NATO territory after a ceasefire," he said after a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Paris.
06.01.2026, 20:11
SDA
"The Federal Government and the German Bundestag must and will decide on the nature and scope of a German contribution as soon as the conditions mentioned have been clarified," said the CDU chairman. "I want to say for myself and also for the Federal Government: we are not ruling out anything in principle." This means that the deployment of Bundeswehr soldiers in Ukraine itself is not ruled out.
France and Great Britain are the driving forces
For months now, the allies have been discussing how to secure a possible ceasefire and protect Ukraine from new attacks by Russia. France and the UK have so far been the driving forces behind this. Germany, on the other hand, has taken the position that the question only arises once the conditions of a ceasefire have been clarified.
Now Merz is changing course. He has declared his fundamental willingness for German military involvement. How many German soldiers would participate and what tasks they would take on, however, remains open for the time being.
26 countries already declared their willingness in September
26 other Western countries had already declared their willingness in September to send troops to secure a ceasefire or peace between Russia and Ukraine. This involves ground troops or forces in the air or at sea. The deployment of troops is intended to prevent any new major aggression and contribute to the lasting security of Ukraine. France has repeatedly made it clear that this is not a frontline operation, but a peacekeeping operation from further away.
Four NATO states border Ukraine
The NATO states of Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia border Ukraine. These countries could therefore be possible deployment locations.
The Bundeswehr is already deployed on NATO's eastern flank. German soldiers are stationed in Lithuania, for example, where they are making a German contribution to deterring Russia between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
In Poland, men and women of the Bundeswehr were again deployed from January to December with the Patriot air defense system to secure the militarily important Rzeszow hub, through which military aid to Ukraine is handled. The airport there is a good 70 kilometers as the crow flies and around 100 kilometers by road from the border with Ukraine.
In December, the German Air Force deployed Eurofighter combat aircraft to Poland to strengthen the protection of NATO's eastern flank. They are kept ready for missions at the Polish military airfield in Malbork. Eurofighter crews and support forces are also in Romania near the NATO external border with Ukraine.
