26 countries pledge troops for Ukraine reassurance force after war ends

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 of Ukraine's allies have formally committed to deploying a post-war "reassurance force" on land, sea, and air to secure Ukraine after a ceasefire. The plan was finalized at a Paris summit of the "coalition of the willing." While European leaders insist the force requires a U.S. security backstop, Washington's exact role remains undefined. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains defiant, claiming military advances and demanding territorial concessions that Ukraine firmly rejects.

26-country Ukraine reassurance force

• ▪French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 of Ukraine's allies have formally committed to deploying troops as a post-war reassurance force to guarantee Ukraine's security after a ceasefire or peace deal is reached.
• ▪The proposed reassurance force will deploy troops on land, at sea, or in the air to prevent new major aggression, but French President Emmanuel Macron stated it does not aim to wage war against Russia.
• ▪Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese participated in the virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing but did not outline any specific troop commitments to the reassurance force plan.

Paris coalition summit

• ▪French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosted a summit of the 35-nation coalition of the willing in Paris on September 4, 2025, to discuss post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.
• ▪Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed Canada's commitment to the coalition and expressed willingness to deploy direct, scalable military assistance to support a ceasefire.
• ▪The United Kingdom recycled £1 billion in seized Russian assets into military aid and equipment for Ukraine, as announced by UK Defence Secretary John Healey.

US security backstop role

• ▪European leaders have stated that a post-war reassurance force in Ukraine is only feasible with the backing and security guarantees of the United States.
• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with European and Ukrainian diplomats in Paris and briefly attended the opening session of the security summit.
• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out deploying American troops on the ground in Ukraine, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the U.S. has signaled readiness to support guarantees resembling NATO's collective defense mandate.

Post-war security guarantee framework

• ▪NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Russia has no veto or say over whether Western nations deploy security guarantee troops inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
• ▪The primary elements of the proposed security guarantees for Ukraine include continuous military supply and training to regenerate the Ukrainian army alongside the deployment of an international reassurance force.
• ▪German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany will decide on its military involvement in Ukraine only after the framework conditions of a ceasefire have been clarified.

Putin defiance from China

• ▪While in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian forces are advancing on all fronts in Ukraine and vowed that the military invasion would continue.
• ▪Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a military parade in Beijing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, highlighting deepening ties among the nations.

Russian pressure on negotiations

• ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected ceding any Ukrainian territory to Russia, warning that territorial concessions would only embolden future Russian aggression.
• ▪Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that ending the conflict is possible if common sense prevails, but threatened that Russia will resolve all its tasks militarily if its demands are not met.
• ▪Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that a lasting peace requires international legal recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson.