Ukraine’s allies will meet later today in Paris to discuss the country’s security after a potential ceasefire with Russia.
The talks – which include Sir Keir Starmer – are taking place in the shadow of Donald Trump’s military operation in Venezuela, which saw the capture of its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and the US president’s remarks about taking over Greenland, which are causing tension with Europe.
Before the capture of Maduro, French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed optimism about the gathering of the “coalition of the willing” which includes more than 20 European countries as well as Turkey, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The allies have been looking into how to deter any possible future Russian aggression should Moscow agree to cease fighting in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be joined by more than 27 leaders in the French capital, along with Mr Trump’s senior negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (who is also the US president’s son-in-law).
Those present will be looking for solutions to five key priorities once the conflict ends: ways to monitor a ceasefire; support for Ukraine’s armed forces; the deployment of a multinational force on land, at sea and in the air; commitments in case there’s another Russian invasion; and long-term defence cooperation with Ukraine.
Ukraine is seeking guarantees from Washington of military and other support, which it considers crucial for securing similar commitments from its other allies.
Before Mr Trump’s operation targeting Maduro, Mr Witkoff had indicated there had been progress in talks about protecting and reassuring Ukraine.
In an X post on 31 December, he said “productive” discussions between him, Mr Rubio and Mr Kushner on the US side and the national security advisers of the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine, had focused on “strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart.”
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Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said potential European troop deployments still faced hurdles, important details had not yet been worked out and “not everyone is ready” to commit forces.
He said many countries would need approval from their parliaments if their leaders agreed to military support for Ukraine. Ukraine’s leader also recognised support could come in he form of “weapons, technologies and intelligence” rather than just troops.
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UK and French deployments in Ukraine ‘essential’
Mr Zelenskyy said post-ceasefire deployments in Ukraine by the UK and France, Western Europe’s only nuclear-armed nations, would be “essential” because other coalition members “cannot provide military assistance in the form of troops, but they do provide support through sanctions, financial assistance, humanitarian aid and so on”.
“Speaking frankly as president, even the very existence of the coalition depends on whether certain countries are ready to step up their presence,” he added. “If they are not ready at all, then it is not really a ‘coalition of the willing’.”
