KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders met in Paris on Thursday with the U.S. 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.
Zelenskyy held a closed-door meeting with Steve Witkoff, according to presidential press secretary Serhii Nikiforov.
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.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lead the group, have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States.
Starmer’s office said after the meeting that the British prime minister “emphasized 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.”
Starmer’s office also mentioned a decision from the coalition to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine “to further bolster the country’s supplies.”
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,” 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 Thursday after meeting 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.”
Positive signals
In a policy shift earlier this month, the U.S. sent positive signals over its readiness to support security guarantees for Ukraine that resemble NATO’s collective defense mandate, Zelenskyy said. It is unclear what that support would look like in practice. Ukraine is hoping for continued U.S. intelligence sharing and air support.
Some leaders took part in person in the Paris talks while others joined virtually. They were set to speak with Trump over the phone after the meeting.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who attended the meeting virtually, said that a broad coalition of nations is needed to support Ukraine’s defense 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 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.”
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 Thursday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force morning report. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 84 drones, the statement said.
Russia on Thursday announced that it was expelling an Estonian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Estonia declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata last month.
