PARIS — Twenty-six of Ukraine’s allies are pledging operational and financial contributions to security guarantees for Kyiv if there’s a peace deal to end the war, and they’re now looking to U.S. President Trump to step up.
Leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing agreed Thursday on a “military plan that includes details of contributions that [countries] are willing to make,” French President Emmanuel Macron said after a hybrid meeting co-hosted with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The meeting was meant to firm up security guarantees for postwar Ukraine and to sketch out a division of labor among Ukraine’s allies.
“Twenty-six countries have formalized their contributions very precisely,” Macron said, adding: “We now have 26 countries that have formally committed to deploy a force of reassurance for Ukraine armed forces … to be present on the ground, at sea or in the sky.”
The plan will be discussed with Washington in the coming days, Macron said.
“We discussed in detail the readiness of each country to contribute to ensuring security on land, at sea, in the air and in cyberspace,” Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram channel. “We coordinated positions and discussed the components of security guarantees.”
After hashing out their possible contributions, leaders held a call with Trump, who was represented in Paris by his special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The U.S. president and coalition of the willing leaders talked about ramping up pressure on Moscow with possible additional sanctions, including targeting Russia’s allies such as China, Zelenskyy said.
Trump was also “very unhappy” that Russian oil is still being bought by two European countries, Hungary and Slovakia, Zelenskyy said. Both skew toward the Kremlin and are buying Russian oil shipped via the Druzhba pipeline — which Ukraine bombed last month, sparking outrage from Hungary.
Security guarantees for Ukraine could take several forms, including deployment of troops to Ukraine, air patrols over the country, securing maritime traffic in the Black Sea and helping to build the Ukrainian armed forces to fend off another Russian attack.
The precondition is a ceasefire or peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. For many European countries, another prerequisite is military support from Washington, which has logistical and intelligence capabilities that European countries lack. The Trump administration has signaled openness to help with the mission, but is ruling out sending American soldiers.
An Elysée official stressed earlier this week that the group’s message is that they are “ready” and the ball is now in Washington’s court to deliver on its two promises: Get Russian leader Vladimir Putin to sign a ceasefire deal and to provide details on the so-called backstop involving air defenses and intelligence sharing to protect allied troops on the ground.
“The U.S. were very clear,” Macron said. “On their support and their willingness to be a part of security guarantees. There is no doubt about that.”
Zelenskyy said that “the exact American contribution will be clarified in the coming days.”
But for now Putin is balking at Trump’s demands for a summit with Zelenskyy while continuing to bombard Ukrainian cities.
“We share the view that Russia is doing everything possible to drag out the negotiation process and prolong the war,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram. “We need to increase support for Ukraine and intensify pressure on Russia.”
Each allied country will be expected to play a role on any mission to Ukraine, which is fraught with danger as it could drag in NATO if European troops in Ukraine are attacked by Russia.
The U.K. and France are likely to play a leading part.
Berlin is investing millions to help the Ukrainian armed forces but is reluctant to talk about German boots on the ground.
“Germany will play its part” and “is prepared to expand [its] role” in financing and supporting the Ukrainian armed forces, a spokesperson for the German government said shortly after the meeting. According to German newspaper Spiegel, that could include ramped up support for air defenses.
POLITICO reported earlier this week that Italy is weighing participating in air patrols, modeled on NATO’s Baltic air policing mission.
Poland and Romania — both of which border Ukraine — are ruling out sending their own troops into Ukraine, but are willing to help with transport and logistics.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who was at the Paris meeting, told Finnish media: “We are not sending Finns to the war front in Ukraine. Finland will participate in one way or another when the time comes.”
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