France and Ukraine’s presidents confirmed that there is a coalition of countries ready to deploy troops in Ukraine to ensure its security once a ceasefire or a peace deal with Russia is achieved, a plan apparently also backed by the United States.
The first to speak about the proposal was French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing that is helping Ukraine. The meeting involved 35 countries. Macron said that out of them, 26 agreed to have some armed presence in the country once the war is either ended or paused. He did not disclose any other countries, although the UK have been in favour of such a solution for a while.
The meeting, which included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the US envoy for peace talks, Steve Witkoff, aimed to assess long-term support for Ukraine and determine the level of engagement from the US. American President Donald Trump chimed in on the meeting over the telephone, prompting European countries to put more economic pressure on Russia by stopping the purchase of its oil and gas and by talking to China, which keeps supporting Vladimir Putin.
Many European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, believe that the European Union may raise its sanctions against Russia to drag Putin to the negotiation table.
Zelenskyy held a closed-door meeting with Witkoff, following a policy shift from Trump. The US seem willing to keep supporting Ukraine with materials and in safety guarantees, including a sort of defence akin to NATO’s Article 5. Details are still sparse on what this policy will look like, though.
According to both Macron and Zelenskyy, the US are supportive of the deployment plan; however, at the moment, it is unclear whether they will be an active part of the plan or not. Asked about it, Zelenskyy said that “I am not yet ready to tell you in detail” how the US will be involved in this plan.
