If the war does not end with Russia's defeat, then the more convincing the guarantees provided to Ukraine appear in Putin's eyes, the higher the probability that the Kremlin will not soon launch a new invasion.But the nuance of war in Europe is that security guarantees for Ukraine effectively become security guarantees for all of Europe.Recent days have vividly demonstrated how differently Ukraine, Europe, the U.S., and Russia understand the term "security guarantees."Ukraine sees them as a mechanism for involving the armies of guarantor countries in case of a new invasion. European countries do not consider the possibility of deploying troops in a full-scale trench war like what is happening in Ukraine. They are only talking about separate contingents in the rear, under U.S. coordination and cover. The Pentagon stated that the U.S. role in this process would be minimal, but what exactly this means is currently unclear. Russia has declared that NATO troops cannot be in Ukraine, and that Russia itself, and possibly China, should guarantee Ukraine's security."How to reconcile these directly opposite expectations is difficult to understand. But sooner or later, an answer to this question will have to be found."At the same time, the small contingents of foreign forces that Europeans are now talking about are not such a big problem in themselves. For example, the total contingent of NATO country troops in the three Baltic states is about 5,600 military personnel. By 2027, it is planned to increase it to 10,000.Obviously, 10,000 military personnel cannot stop a hypothetical Russian invasion. But the very fact of combat clashes between Russia and military personnel from Germany, Canada, Spain, etc., would become a powerful incentive for these countries to activate Article 5 of the NATO treaty and send additional troops to the eastern flank. Everyone knows that Article 5 does not contain a direct obligation to send troops. But if Italian or French soldiers are fighting and dying on the eastern front, Rome and Paris will have no other political options than to accept this challenge and send their army. Any other option would look like capitulation.Theoretically, the deployment of similar military contingents of guarantor countries in Ukraine could have a similar effect.But the problem is that without the U.S. and without NATO, none of this works. Today, no European country has a full-fledged army. The strongest among them is Poland's army, which regularly allows Russian drones to fly unhindered into its own territory. One of them recently fell quite close to Warsaw when it ran out of fuel.So if U.S. participation in Ukraine's security guarantees is minimal, this is unlikely to become a serious deterrent factor for Russia.For example, there is currently no answer to the question: what will happen if Russia launches a missile strike on a French peacekeeping garrison somewhere in the Lviv region and as a result French military personnel are killed or wounded? If such a garrison is under the protection of Article 5, this would mean an attack on NATO. And if not, the Americans might say: "You brought this on yourselves, so continue fighting on your own." As a result, France would find itself at war with Russia, but without NATO guarantees.There are actually many such questions, and each of them can turn the discussion about European military garrisons in Ukraine into fantasy."Obviously, Europeans do not want to fight Russia. And it is equally obvious that the absence of the U.S. among guarantor countries and the non-extension of NATO's Article 5 to them is too weak a guarantee for Russia to fear it."Today there is only one army in the world that is ready both morally and actually to confront Russia. This is the Ukrainian Armed Forces. So obviously, almost the only real security guarantee for Ukraine could be the creation of a joint European army based on the Ukrainian forces, which would be financed, armed, and trained by Europeans. With all the derivatives: European social protection systems, healthcare, and even salaries directly from Brussels. This would allow attracting ambitious military and civilian personnel to the Ukrainian army from both Ukraine and other countries.A strong country with a powerful army equipped with modern high-tech weapons - this would be the most reliable security guarantee for Ukraine.SourceAbout the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Ukrainian MP.The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.