German military union: Ukraine needs tens of thousands of European soldiers
Illustrative photo: Depositphotos

The head of the German Bundeswehr Association, Andre Wüstner, believes that for the success of the peacekeeping mission of the "coalition of the willing," European countries need to deploy tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine. He stated this... stated / declared / said in a comment to Reuters.

The colonel urged the leaders of the countries that agreed to send their troops to deter Russian aggression to realistically assess the situation.

"It will not be enough to have a handful of generals and small military units serving the command post in Ukraine. From the very beginning, Putin must be made to understand clearly that we are completely serious about security guarantees," he said.

Wüstner calculated that to effectively counter Russia, each of the major countries in the "coalition of the willing," such as Great Britain, France, and Germany, will need to deploy at least 10,000 troops to Ukraine in the long term.

"A 'bluff and pray' approach would be utterly reckless and would increase the risk of escalation," the colonel warned.

Wüstner stated that a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine would pose a huge challenge for European military forces.

"Europeans remain military dwarfs. Europe is still far from being able to defend itself independently," he believes.

The Association of the German Bundeswehr is an organization of military personnel and veterans that actively advocates for the development of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) and the protection of the interests of its personnel. It unites over 200,000 people.

The "Coalition of the Determined" is an informal name for the countries that have agreed to deploy their military personnel to Ukraine to deter Russia. It is part of the broader "Coalition of the Willing," which unites Ukraine's foreign partners.