French president Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 nations have pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land, sea, and in the air. The statement followed a summit in Paris where European leaders sought to clarify the level of support the United States is willing to provide.
Macron explained that the guarantees would be deployed the day the conflict stops. The security commitments include a reassurance force of troops either in Ukraine or positioned nearby on land, sea, or in the air. He stressed that these forces would not be deployed on the frontline but would aim to prevent any new major aggression.
Initially, Macron suggested that all 26 nations would send troops to Ukraine, but later clarified that some countries would provide guarantees while remaining outside the country, focusing instead on training and equipping Ukrainian forces. He did not specify how many troops might be involved.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the announcement, calling it the first serious and concrete step of this kind in a long time. Macron added that the United States’ contributions to the guarantees would be finalized in the coming days.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Western countries cannot provide security guarantees for Ukraine in a way acceptable to Russia.