Zelensky and Ukraine’s European backers talk to Trump: Live Updates

The leaders of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ have met at a summit in Paris

The meeting of Ukraine’s backers, known as the ‘coalition of the willing’, took place on Thursday at the at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Those in attendance included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Vladimir Zelensky, and the leaders of Belgium, Poland, Finland and France.

Kiev has been pressing the West to provide security guarantees that could serve as a substitute for NATO’s collective defense since the US effectively blocked Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.

Several European nations, including France and the UK, have voiced their readiness to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine, while Germany recently said it has no such plans. Trump has ruled out sending US troops.

Russia has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate NATO countries’ soldiers on Ukrainian soil, even if they are deployed as a peacekeeping force. President Vladimir Putin has specified that in order for a ceasefire to be achieved, Western military aid to Kiev must end.

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