US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with European leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss long-term security guarantees for Ukraine so as to ensure continued military support to the war-torn country while also outlining potential aid strategies if a ceasefire is reached amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, The Associated Press reported.
Coalition of the Willing Gathers in Paris
Witkoff was invited to join the ‘coalition of the willing’, a group led by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The coalition focuses on planning aid and military support for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression.
Ahead of the meeting, Macron reportedly said, “We Europeans are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and the Ukrainians on the day peace is signed.” The French President further said that preparatory work had been done and the guarantees are now awaiting political approval, though he did not share further details.
A Ukrainian presidency official told the US-based news agency that Witkoff also planned to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the talks. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the publication that the goal was to discuss the security guarantees in depth.
Ukraine’s Demands for Strong Security Guarantees
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, meanwhile, told reporters after meeting Witkoff and other national security advisors that the guarantees “must be strong and effective – in the air, at sea, on land, and in cyberspace.” This comes amid growing hopes in Kyiv that the US might back guarantees resembling NATO’s collective defense.
Though details of US support remain unclear, Zelenskyy has on several ocassions expressed interest in continued American intelligence sharing and air support.
Escalating Tensions on the Ground
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 112 strike and decoy drones overnight Thursday, while claiming that Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept or jam 84 of them, per AP.
Trump’s Role and Frustration with Peace Talks
Trump had Wednesday on said that he planned to speak with Zelenskyy soon amid stalled momentum to end the war. During a White House meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Trump reportedly said, “I’m having a conversation with him very shortly, and I’ll know pretty much what we’re going to be doing.”
Despite pushing for Zelenskyy-Putin talks, the White House has seen little progress. Trump hinted at possible future actions against Russia, saying, “I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand… And if we are unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
The US President also defended his administration’s sanctions, including raising tariffs on Indian imports in a bid to curb Russian oil purchases, a move that appears to have strained US-India relations in recent days.
Global Power Shifts and Growing Tensions
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a major summit in China with other world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
