A potential compromise floating in Western policy circles is the use of troops from non-NATO countries for a security mission in Ukraine. However, this idea, intended to de-escalate, appears to be a non-starter, as Vladimir Putin’s sweeping threat makes no such distinction.
The logic behind the non-NATO option is to avoid triggering NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause. If troops from a country like Sweden (before potential membership), Austria, or another neutral state were attacked, it would not automatically trigger a response from the entire alliance. This could, in theory, provide a firebreak against a wider war.
This is reportedly a component of potential US plans for monitoring a buffer zone. The hope is that Moscow would see a force composed of soldiers from neutral countries as less of a direct threat than a force from, for example, the US, UK, or Germany.
However, Putin’s declaration was all-encompassing. He spoke of “any western troops” and “some troops,” without specifying their origin or alliance. His logic is based on their presence in Ukraine in support of Kyiv, not on the flag on their shoulder. By rejecting any foreign military presence, he has preemptively rejected this potential diplomatic off-ramp.