Twenty-six countries have pledged to form a post-war "reassurance force" for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday, after a Paris summit of the so-called Coalition of the Willing.
The commitments come three weeks after President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a summit that produced no ceasefire. Since then, Russia has intensified drone and missile strikes, including an attack last week that killed 23 people, among them a two-year-old girl and her mother.
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Macron said the pledged force would not fight Russia but would help guarantee Ukraine's security once the war ends.
"This force does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia," Macron told reporters in Paris. "But it must guarantee peace and provide very clear strategic signaling. It will be deployed within the framework of a ceasefire, not on the front line — to prevent any new major aggression and to involve the 26 states very clearly in the lasting security of Ukraine."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the commitments but said guarantees must be binding.
President Trump spoke by phone with Zelenskyy and European leaders following the Paris meeting. He has ruled out sending American ground troops but suggested the U.S. could provide air support, intelligence, and sanctions pressure.
European leaders say U.S. participation is critical. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the coalition's pledge "unbreakable," while Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Trump pressed Europe to end purchases of Russian oil and gas.
Without U.S. backing, officials warn, the security plan could be dismissed as symbolic.
A White House official tells Scripps News that President Trump urged European leaders to halt purchases of Russian oil, which he said are funding the war, and pressed them to increase economic pressure on China for its role in supporting Moscow's war effort.
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Zelensky reiterated that talks with Putin remain necessary but questioned Moscow's intentions.
"This meeting is needed. This is not a matter of a desire, this is a matter of necessity," he said. "However, we don't yet see their desire to end the war. Adult leaders must leave meetings of such level with some result. Preferably, with ending the war."
President Trump has previously said Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO under any settlement with Russia. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, attended the Paris talks to explore U.S. involvement in alternative security frameworks.
Even as leaders met in Paris, Ukraine reported a large overnight drone assault. Russia launched 112 drones, 84 of which were intercepted or jammed, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Zelensky underscored the immediate stakes: "Until there is peace, our people should not have to deal with constant Russian attacks. Russian missiles and Iranian drones should not take the lives of Ukrainians. Ukrainians should not suffer."
