Polish General urges Coalition of the Willing to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine

This opinion was expressed in an interview with Ukrinform by Polish expert and former commander of the rocket forces and artillery of the Polish Armed Forces, Jarosław Kraszewski.

“There is a format of action known as ‘peace enforcement’, which is used when one side lacks the will to conclude peace. In this case, Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness to achieve peace on reasonable and fair terms. Russia, on the other hand, is misleading the entire world. Therefore, if a Coalition of the Willing has already been formed, its troops should be deployed in Ukraine,” Kraszewski said.

According to him, closing the skies over part of Ukraine would serve as air cover for the coalition’s forces, ensuring freedom of maneuver and decision-making for the contingent. Such protection would require a robust air defense system capable of destroying aerial targets.

“Such a step would significantly limit Russia’s freedom of action and send a powerful signal to Putin: enough games,” the general stressed.

He noted that Russia would likely claim such a contingent would become a legitimate target.

“But Russians are also afraid of strength. Europeans must state clearly: we are not afraid, and if there are provocations, we will respond immediately and decisively,” Kraszewski added.

In his view, the peacekeeping contingent of the Coalition of the Willing in Ukraine should number at least 30,000–40,000 troops as a demonstration of force.

“The West must stop applying “aspirin and band-aids” and end the phase in which Russia provokes all of us while we convince ourselves that we are supposedly moving closer to decisions through peace negotiations. Those negotiations may never happen, while the Russians will continue shelling and attacking... The war must be stopped through decisive action now, in order to create conditions for Ukrainians to return home and begin rebuilding their country,” he emphasized.

Kraszewski also said that the presence of Polish troops in Ukraine should be limited to liaison officers in Ukrainian commands and headquarters, since Poland itself is a frontline state.

“From the very beginning, we have served as a logistical hub for military assistance to Ukraine. Poland should also send liaison officers to the commands and headquarters of the Ukrainian armed forces. We must make all our training grounds available for preparing the next rotations of servicemen who will carry out tasks under the mandate of a peacekeeping mission,” he said.

According to him, Poland should also become a place where Ukraine’s battlefield experience is systematically shared with Western allies.

At the same time, Kraszewski warned that if Russia dares to stage provocations against NATO, Poland will be on the front line, and Polish forces must be prepared for possible aggressive actions by Russia.

As reported by Ukrinform, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the Coalition of the Willing will continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary because “evil cannot prevail.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has also called on partners in the Coalition of the Willing to increase energy support for Ukraine.