The UK is preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a “reassurance force” if a peace deal is reached with Russia – but Donald Trump has ruled out the US doing the same.
The pledge came after Sir Keir Starmer co-chaired a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” attended by more than 30 international leaders to lay out plans to meet their American counterparts to agree security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression.
The virtual meeting on Tuesday, which followed the leaders’ talks with Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday, also discussed possible further sanctions on Russia to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war.
But questions remain about how genuine the Russian leader is about wanting to find a peace after three and a half years of devastating conflict. Just hours after the meeting, Moscow launched its largest aerial attack in a month, firing 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine.
And while the US president is pushing for the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents in six years, Putin’s reported initial suggestion of Moscow for the venue was quickly rejected by Kyiv.
European leaders are now trying to nail down the specifics of what any US security guarantees will look like. While President Trump has said the US would be willing to help with some aspects, such as providing air support, he has ruled out putting US boots on the ground or allowing Ukraine to join Nato.
Mr Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, suggested over the weekend that measures similar to Nato’s article five mutual defence provision – which considers an attack on one member to be an attack on all – could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance.
President Zelensky has hailed the promise to provide guarantees as "a major step forward", adding that the plans would be "formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days".
In a statement after Tuesday’s meeting came to an end, a Downing Street spokesperson said coalition of the willing planning teams would “meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended”.
The UK and France have pledged to commit forces to Ukraine to deter Putin from launching a fresh assault on his neighbour if a deal is done to end the war.
The prime minister told European leaders at Tuesday’s meeting that the talks in Washington displayed a “real sense of unity” and demonstrated the “shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, a Downing Street spokesperson said. “The leaders also discussed how further pressure, including through sanctions, could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.”
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Keir said this week had seen a “real significant breakthrough” on ending the war in Ukraine, saying Monday’s talks showed that “we have moved forward”.
He said he was "very pleased" with the outcomes, including progress on security guarantees, saying this would “reassure people in Europe, in Ukraine, but particularly in the United Kingdom”.
It is understood that the UK’s chief of defence staff, Sir Tony Radakin, is travelling to Washington on Tuesday afternoon for talks with US officials on security arrangements. And Switzerland has offered to host further peace talks, with its foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, offering to grant the Russian president immunity from arrest if he were to visit the country for negotiations. Putin has been the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant since 2023 for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but Mr Cassis said he would not be arrested if he came for a “peace conference”, adding that Switzerland was “ready for such a meeting”.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron said he and other European leaders had succeeded in changing Mr Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine. “I think we have changed President Trump since he arrived in power in January,” the French president told Paris Match. “You remember the time when he thought he would settle the conflict in 24 hours? We rose up, united as Europeans, and he took it into account. He also brought a fundamental asset dealing with Russia: his unpredictability.”
The comments came as the US president admitted it would be a “rough situation” if Putin failed to agree peace terms – but stressed that Mr Zelensky had to show flexibility, including giving up hopes of taking back control of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, or joining Nato. He also insisted that Moscow would “accept” multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine’s security.
Speaking to Fox News about Ukraine giving up hopes of joining Nato, Mr Trump said everything had “worked out well” when Ukraine was considered a “buffer” between Russia and the rest of Europe, because Putin did not want an “enemy” on his border.
“It was always thought that Ukraine was a sort of a buffer between Russia and the rest of Europe. And it was – it was a big, wide buffer. Everything worked out well until [President] Biden got involved,” he said.
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