Zelenskyy and European leaders push for US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine
US envoy Steve Witkoff, left, met France’s President Emmanuel Macron at talks in Paris (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders met in Paris with the US envoy appointed by President Donald Trump to mediate peace talks, discussing security guarantees for the war-torn nation as allies seek to ensure long-term military support and continued American backing once the conflict ends.
Mr Zelenskyy held a closed-door meeting with Steve Witkoff, according to presidential press secretary Serhii Nikiforov.
Mr Witkoff was invited to participate in the so-called “coalition of the willing” meeting to discuss aid for Ukraine, including sketching out plans for military support in the event of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war to deter future Russian aggression.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who lead the group, have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States.
Sir Keir’s office said after the meeting that the Prime Minister “emphasised that 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 (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”
Sir Keir’s office also mentioned a decision from the coalition to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine “to further bolster the country’s supplies”.
Mr Macron said ahead of Thursday’s meeting that preparatory work on the security guarantees had been done and should now be approved at political level. He did not provide details.
“We Europeans are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and the Ukrainians on the day peace is signed,” Mr Macron said.
It is unclear what members of the coalition are willing to contribute, including troops on the ground.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said on Thursday after meeting Mr Witkoff and other national security advisers that the security guarantees “must be strong and effective — in the air, at sea, on land, and in cyberspace”.
In a policy shift earlier this month, the US sent positive signals over its readiness to support security guarantees for Ukraine that resemble Nato’s collective defence mandate, Mr Zelenskyy said.
It is unclear what that support would look like in practice. Ukraine is hoping for continued US intelligence sharing and air support.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, who attended the meeting virtually, said a broad coalition of nations was needed to support Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression, but also to strengthen Europe to deter further military action by Moscow.
Citing European military and intelligence officials who have warned of Russian plans to strike within the decade other European countries, most of them in the military alliance Mr Rutte helms, he said that “we have to make sure that our deterrence is such that they will never try, knowing that our reaction will be devastating”.
Mr Rutte also called for the world to “not be naive about Russia”.
“We know what Putin tries to do and and the evidence is there in Ukraine as we speak,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russia fired 112 strike and decoy drones across the country overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force morning report. Air defences intercepted or jammed 84 drones, the statement said.
Some leaders took part in person in the Paris talks while others joined virtually. They were set to speak to Mr Trump on the phone after the meeting.
