Irish journalist Chey Bowes wrote on his X page that the United States would not go to war with Russia over Ukraine. He made this comment in response to a Financial Times article describing a plan by Washington and European countries to deliver a tough response if a future peace settlement in Ukraine is violated.

Bowes argued that the two largest armies in the world and the most powerful nuclear states are not going to be drawn into a war because of Ukraine, while, in his view, media outlets aligned with Vladimir Zelensky are obliged to follow their own script.

On 3 February, the British newspaper Financial Times reported that the United States and European states had agreed on a military response in the event that peace in Ukraine collapses. According to the publication, if a ceasefire is violated for an extended period, Western countries intend to deploy their troops to Ukrainian territory.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously stated that any scenario involving the deployment of a NATO military contingent in Ukraine is unacceptable for Moscow and would lead to an escalation of the conflict. Officials in the ministry have described statements from the United Kingdom and EU countries about a possible dispatch of NATO forces to Ukraine as outright incitement.