26 of Ukraine's allies have promised to send troops as a "reassurance force" for the war-torn nation after fighting in the conflict with Russia is over, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.
Macron said this following a conference of the so-called "coalition of the willing," a coalition of 35 pro-Ukraine nations, held in Paris. According to him, 26 of the nations have pledged to send soldiers to Ukraine or to keep a presence there on land, at sea, or in the air in order to contribute to ensuring the security of the nation the day after a ceasefire or peace agreement is reached.
Macron and other European leaders met with U.S. envoy for peace talks Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Thursday to speak about methods to guarantee that the United States will continue to support Ukraine when the crisis is over and provide long-term military support. Witkoff and Zelenskyy also met behind closed doors.
At a news conference with Zelenskyy, Macron stated that the reassurance force "does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia," instead aiming "to prevent any new major aggression and to involve the 26 states very clearly in the lasting security of Ukraine."
Both Macron and Zelenskyy said Washington has indicated a desire to be included in the proposal, and the Ukrainian president said he was appreciative of that, even though it is unclear how the United States will be involved in the security guarantees. "I am not yet ready to tell you in detail as to what format," Zelenskyy continued.
The leaders of the "coalition of the willing," Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have previously said that the United States must support any European "reassurance" force in Ukraine.
The German government hinted that European sanctions on Russia would rise if Moscow dragged its feet, while the European leaders, some of whom participated electronically in the conference, said Russian President Vladimir Putin must now endeavor to put an end to the fighting. Following their discussion, the European leaders also had a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"The group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President Trump's backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities," according to Starmer's office, which quoted the British prime minister.
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