Brussels – The meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, held in Paris this morning, confirmed the availability of 26 countries to participate in various capacities in security guarantees for Ukraine. The Europeans will offer Kyiv land, air, and sea assets to monitor the terms of a possible ceasefire, which, however, is not yet on the horizon. The leaders of the Old Continent then spoke to Donald Trump, agreeing on more coordination on future sanctions against Russia.
Despite a thousand uncertainties, the fog is beginning to clear around the notorious security guarantees that Kyiv’s Western allies are supposed to provide to Ukraine once the war, which has been going on for more than three and a half years, is over. At their meeting held this morning (4 September) in the French capital, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing discussed the main elements around which postwar peacekeeping should be centered, as outlined yesterday by the chiefs of staff.
Physically present at the meeting convened by Emmanuel Macron were, in addition to Volodymyr Zelensky, several leaders of the 35-member Coalition, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, plus European Council President António Costa, Commission number leader Ursula von der Leyen, and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-chaired the meeting remotely, while Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also joined online.
According to the host, “26 countries have pledged” to participate in the so-called “reassurance force” to stabilise Ukraine in the post-conflict period, providing assets of various kinds for the three main components of this operation, “by land, by sea, or by air.” Zelensky described as a “victory” the availability of such a large number of allies, adding that “we are also counting on the support of the United States,” which will be defined in detail “in the coming days.” An official list of the 26 countries mentioned was not provided.
The first pillar of such a reassurance force will therefore be a multinational land force deployed far from the frontline, unlike in traditional peacekeeping, where foreign soldiers are placed between the belligerent armies along the line of contact. The only certainty is that the Europeans will have to provide the troops, but for now, it is unclear how many soldiers will be committed or, more importantly, what rules of engagement will be in place.
The second element will be the protection of the Ukrainian skies, patrolled by the fighters of the Willing. Again, some key details remain unclear, such as whether pilots will have to impose a no-fly zone or only take to the air to provide air support if necessary. Finally, there will be a naval mission to de-mine the Ukrainian coastline and make the Black Sea trade routes navigable again.
The most intricate issue to resolve remains the deployment of soldiers on the ground. The Europeans seem reluctant to expose themselves directly, especially until the US specifies what its contribution will be. Washington has already stated that it will not send ground troops, a stance also shared by Italy, Germany, and Poland. Providing soldiers should be the responsibility of France, among others, which is, however, in the grip of a deep political crisis and could soon be without a government.
Meloni reiterated “the proposal for a collective security defence mechanism inspired by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty” (NATO’s mutual defence clause) and reiterated “Italy’s unwillingness to send soldiers to Ukraine”. On the other hand, the premier signalled openness to “initiatives to monitor and train outside the Ukrainian borders“.
Indeed, the core of any future security guarantee will be the Ukrainian armed forces, the Coalition of the Willing keeps repeating. “We must turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine, indigestible to present and future aggressors,” von der Leyen reiterated in this regard, promising that “Europe will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers”.
At the end of the meeting, some leaders spoke to Donald Trump on the phone to update him on the outcome of the talks. According to Macron, the US president agreed to work more closely with European allies on future sanctions against Russia and, potentially, also China, aiming to hit Moscow’s energy exports in particular. According to Zelensky, the tycoon is reportedly “very unhappy” that Hungary and Slovakia are continuing to buy Russian fossil fuels (precisely why Budapest and Bratislava have long been
in direct conflict with Kyiv).
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to resolve the decade-long Russo-Ukrainian crisis appear to have hit a dead end. After the August 15 face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, Trump had been confident about the chances of mediating an agreement soon, to be confirmed through a bilateral Putin-Zelensky meeting and possibly a trilateral meeting with the tycoon himself. In recent weeks, however, the prospects of a breakthrough in the talks
faded quickly, and the positions of the belligerents remain reciprocally unacceptable.
Even Trump, who in the past had boasted that he could end the war “in 24 hours,” recently admitted that “it seems a bit more difficult” to bring an end to hostilities while the Federation continues to bombard Ukraine heavily. The White House occupant never followed through on his threats to impose “severe tariffs” on the Kremlin if the tsar refused a truce. Just yesterday, Putin again provoked Zelensky by inviting him to Moscow to negotiate.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
