The United States has for the first time backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies in vowing to provide security guarantees that leaders said would include binding commitments to support the country if it is attacked by Russia again — a move that drew the praise of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The pledge came at a summit in Paris of the Coalition of the Willing of mainly European nations to firm up security guarantees to reassure Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, which invaded its neighbour in 2014 and again at full scale in 2022.
Unlike previous coalition meetings, the summit was also attended by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — US President Donald Trump's son-in-law — as well as America's top general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, who a day earlier fleshed out details of security guarantees with European army chiefs.
Witkoff, who has led talks with Russia, said after the summit that Trump "strongly stands behind security protocols".
"Those security protocols are meant to ... deter any attacks, any further attacks in Ukraine, and ... if there are any attacks, they're meant to defend, and they will do both. They are as strong as anyone has ever seen," he said.
Kushner said that, if the Ukrainians were to make a final deal, "they have to know that after a deal they are secure, they have, obviously, a robust deterrence, and there's real backstops to make sure that this will not happen again".
A statement by coalition leaders also said that allies would participate in a proposed US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism. Officials have said this would likely involve drones, sensors and satellites, not US troops.
A 'signal' of seriousness
Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram after the meeting, said the agreements were "a signal of how seriously Europe and the entire coalition of the willing are ready to work for real security".
But he added that it remained to be determined how the monitoring would work and how the Ukrainian army would be supported and financed.
He thanked the US "for its readiness to be a backstop in all areas — security guarantees, monitoring a ceasefire and rebuilding," adding that the Ukrainian delegation would continue its talks on key issues on Wednesday.
The statement was not explicitly endorsed by the US and details of the US' role were watered down from an earlier draft, notably removing language that outlined the use of US capabilities to support a multinational force in Ukraine.
But European officials hailed the involvement of the US envoys and their strong comments as evidence that the US stood behind the security framework.
Talks to bring the almost four-year war to an end have accelerated since November but Russia has yet to signal willingness to make concessions after Ukraine pushed for changes to a US proposal that initially backed Russia's main demands.
Russia has also given no public sign that it would accept a peace deal with the security guarantees envisaged by Ukraine's allies. It has previously rejected any NATO members having troops inside Ukraine.
Coalition to 'finalise binding commitments'
Until recently, much of the focus was on pledges of military aid for Ukraine's forces and possible contributions to an international reassurance force.
But attention has now shifted to legally binding guarantees to come to Ukraine's aid in the event of another attack by Russia.
The possibility of a military response is likely to trigger debate in many European countries, diplomats say.
"These commitments may include the use of military capabilities, intelligence and logistical support, diplomatic initiatives, adoption of additional sanctions," the leaders' statement said, adding they would now "finalise binding commitments".
French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference after the summit: "We all want ... peace [in Ukraine] to be fair, lasting and clear-eyed … we want this peace to have its guarantees."
European leaders present at the meeting — including Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — stressed that the statement showed renewed unity between Europe and the US on helping Ukraine.
The leaders' statement also pledged a European-led "Multinational Force for Ukraine ... to support the rebuilding of Ukraine's armed forces and support deterrence" with "the proposed support of the US".
Ukraine has long said it cannot be safe without guarantees that are comparable to the NATO alliance's mutual defence agreement, to deter Russia from attacking again. Russia wants any peace deal to bar Ukraine from military alliances.
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