On September 4, 2025, the ornate halls of the Elysee Palace in Paris played host to a pivotal summit that could reshape the security landscape of Eastern Europe. Leaders from 35 countries and major international organizations gathered, forming what has been dubbed the "Coalition of the Willing," to hammer out the future of Ukraine’s security in the shadow of its ongoing conflict with Russia. The meeting, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a roster of global heavyweights—French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and others—was a testament to the gravity of the moment.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the summit’s central focus was to finalize security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. The gathering was not short on symbolism or substance. Macron, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zelensky, declared that the backbone of any future guarantees must be a robust and modern Ukrainian army. "A strong Ukrainian army must be the basis of all security guarantees after the end of the war," he said, underscoring the coalition’s shared resolve. The message was loud and clear: Russia would not be allowed to dictate the terms of Ukraine’s military future.
The coalition, as reported by several outlets including Reuters and The Nightly, reached a consensus that Russia cannot impose restrictions on the size or capabilities of Ukraine’s armed forces. Macron detailed that 26 countries have already agreed in principle to provide military support—by land, sea, or air—once a ceasefire or peace agreement is reached. But there’s a catch: foreign troops would only be deployed after such an agreement, and crucially, they would be stationed away from the front lines to avoid provoking further escalation.
France and the United Kingdom have already indicated their readiness to send troops to Ukraine in the postwar period. Macron emphasized that the United States had participated in every stage of the negotiations, and that its final support for the European guarantees was expected in the coming days. Yet, Germany’s stance remains cautious; Chancellor Merz and his government have pledged to help rebuild Ukraine’s military but will only make a decision on troop deployment once the framework and the extent of US involvement become clear.
For Ukraine, these commitments are more than symbolic. President Zelensky made it clear that support should not be limited to weapons and training. He called on coalition members to help fund the production of weapons within Ukraine itself, offering a path for countries without their own militaries to contribute financially. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for his part, welcomed the partners’ intention to supply long-range missiles, a move that could significantly bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.
However, not everyone is on board. The Kremlin has flatly rejected the notion of any foreign military presence in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated bluntly that Moscow would not engage in discussions about "any foreign interference in Ukraine's security in any form." Russia continues to insist on restrictions for the Ukrainian armed forces, pointing to the draft Istanbul peace agreement of 2022 as the only legitimate basis for future negotiations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks reported by European officials, reiterated his preference for ending the war through negotiations "if common sense prevails," but he also made it clear that he was ready to pursue a military solution if necessary. He ruled out the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine as part of any peace settlement, a position that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte swiftly dismissed. "Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It’s a sovereign country," Rutte said at a conference in Prague before joining the Paris summit by video link. "Russia has nothing to do with this. I think we really have to stop making Putin too powerful."
Beyond military matters, the summit’s agenda included a strong economic component. The coalition discussed new sanctions against Russia, particularly targeting the energy sector, and explored ways to increase economic pressure on China for its support of Russia’s military efforts. US President Donald Trump, who joined a call with coalition leaders after the summit, urged European countries to halt purchases of Russian oil and to push China to withdraw its backing of the Kremlin. "The President also emphasised that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts," a White House official told The Nightly.
Macron confirmed that the coalition and the US had agreed to work more closely on future sanctions, especially those affecting Russia’s oil and gas sector and Chinese involvement. This marks a shift toward greater transatlantic coordination, though it’s not without its complications. Coalition governments have made it clear that any European military role would require US security guarantees as a "backstop," but Trump has so far stopped short of making an explicit commitment to go that far. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with senior diplomats from France, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Ukraine ahead of the summit, signaling ongoing negotiations but also a degree of caution from Washington.
For months, members of the coalition have been hashing out the details of their prospective support for Ukraine, always with the understanding that a final truce remains, for now, a distant prospect. The urgency of the summit was heightened by the lack of progress toward direct peace talks between Putin and Zelensky since Trump hosted Putin in August. European officials made it clear they hoped to prod the US to increase pressure on Russia and keep the issue at the top of the transatlantic agenda.
The Paris summit’s outcomes reflect both the unity and the complexity of the Western response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. While there’s broad agreement on the need to support Ukraine and deter future aggression, the devil remains in the details—particularly when it comes to the timing and scale of military deployments, the specifics of economic sanctions, and the always-present question of US commitment. As Macron put it, "The allies must provide funds to rebuild the Ukrainian army to deter future Russian aggression." It’s a promise that will require not just words, but sustained action and, perhaps, a leap of faith from leaders wary of being drawn deeper into a conflict that has already upended the European order.
With the world watching, the Coalition of the Willing has laid the groundwork for a new era of security guarantees for Ukraine. Whether these assurances will be enough to bring lasting peace—or simply mark the next phase in a long and grinding struggle—remains to be seen.