Luxembourg Declines to Contribute Troops to Ukraine Reassurance Force
Luxembourg’s Defence Minister Yuriko Backes announced on Friday that the country will not send troops to a proposed “reassurance force” being considered by several Ukraine-supportive nations. The minister explained that Luxembourg’s existing military commitments in Lithuania and Romania already stretch their capabilities, making a deployment to Ukraine unfeasible, reports 24brussels.
Backes emphasized, “Other countries have greater human resource capacities than we do,” indicating that Luxembourg’s potential contribution would focus on material support, particularly in the areas of air transport and satellites.
In alignment with this strategic support, Luxembourg-based satellite company SES is part of a consortium working on the EU’s IRIS2 satellite system, designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has been critical for the Ukrainian military.
Luxembourg is not alone in rejecting troop deployment. Earlier this week, Greece expressed similar sentiments, and US President Donald Trump suggested that American support would likely be confined to air operations only.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Wednesday that he anticipates receiving clarity on security guarantees for Kyiv within 7–10 days, targeting the end of August as a critical timeframe for these discussions.
