The 'volunteer coalition' is starting to take shape. The countries that remain committed to defending Ukraine - basically the same ones that have done so since the beginning of the Russian invasion but with the very notable exception of the United States - have held an 'online summit' convened by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer kicked off the summit by stating that "my impression is that sooner or later [Putin] is going to come to the negotiating table, but - and this is an important "but" in this meeting - we cannot wait sitting down for that to happen."
For the British Prime Minister, that means "strengthening Ukraine, so that it can defend itself, in terms of military capabilities, in terms of funding, in terms of future support from all of us" for that country.
"If Putin is serious about peace, it is very simple, he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire," said the Prime Minister. Indeed, Ukraine experienced a Russian overnight attack with 178 drones and two missiles.
Today's virtual 'summit' - which brought together leaders from around 26 European countries and NATO partners - is a continuation of the one held exactly two weeks ago in London after the spectacular verbal attack by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, and his Vice President, J.D. Vance, on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. The goal is to begin implementing the four points agreed upon on that occasion: maintaining military aid to Kiev; ensuring that any peace plan must respect, if not Ukraine's territorial sovereignty, at least the country's national independence; continuing military aid to Ukraine so that it can defend itself from potential Russian aggressions in the future; and the deployment of a 'volunteer coalition'.
The key now is to discuss how the military deployment will be after the war. Next Thursday, there will be a meeting of military chiefs. Sending European peace troops to a potential ceasefire line is complex. Only the United Kingdom and France have committed to sending soldiers, and they have already begun coordinating the possible operation this week. Others, like Italy, oppose sending soldiers without a UN resolution. It seems unlikely that these forces will have U.S. air support, receive intelligence from that country, or be covered by its nuclear 'umbrella', posing a significant military challenge.
For now, only two countries have committed to participating in that peace force: the United Kingdom and France. The conservative British newspaper Daily Telegraph stated on Wednesday that Spain was willing to send soldiers to the ceasefire line. The Government of Pedro Sánchez denied the information. Spain has 3,000 troops stationed in Eastern Europe.
Another aspect of the summit is the possible seizure of Russian state funds frozen in the West, mainly in Europe, to finance the purchase of weapons for Ukraine. So far, only the interests of those funds have been used for that purpose, and only on two occasions, once by the EU and once, two weeks ago, by the UK. Touching the frozen resources poses legal difficulties and could also deter other investors from non-democratic emerging markets in Europe. Regarding this and in the press conference after the meeting, the Prime Minister added that the leaders discussed "how much further we can go" in tightening sanctions on Russia, including the possibility of seizing Russia's frozen assets, a topic he describes as a "complicated issue".
In the subsequent press conference, he pointed out that the so-called "volunteer coalition" will develop plans to help protect Ukraine "on land, sea, and air" in the event of a peace agreement with Russia.
He added that the efforts of those supporting Ukraine must continue, including maintaining "the flow of military aid" and continuing with sanctions to "weaken Putin's war machine and bring him to the table".
He also noted that the coalition has grown since two weeks ago. We have a "firmer collective resolution," Starmer states, and "this morning new commitments have been put on the table," although the Prime Minister does not provide specific examples.
The attendees agreed that we must now move to an "operational phase," he continued, and we are gaining "political and military momentum". Starmer added that now is the time to "exert maximum pressure on Russia".
Among the attendees, the presence of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of the main countries of the European Union (EU), NATO partners, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, was expected, Downing Street indicated in a statement. The big question was whether Giorgia Meloni would be present. Finally, she did connect, according to the Corriere della Sera. As the Italian newspaper explains, Starmer had a phone conversation with Starmer, to whom the leader of the Italian right said she would listen: "I will reiterate my already known position."
"The Prime Minister confirmed that Italy intends to continue working with its European and Western partners, as well as with the United States, to define credible and effective security guarantees, reiterating that national participation in a possible military force on the ground is not planned," the Italian Government said in a statement.
On the eve of the summit, Starmer held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, and later warned in a statement: "We cannot allow President Putin to circumvent the agreement of President (of the United States, Donald) Trump".
"The Kremlin's absolute disdain for Trump's ceasefire proposal only serves to show that Putin is not serious about peace," said the Labour leader, as reported by Efe.
"Stop the barbaric attacks in Ukraine once and for all and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then, we will continue working against the clock to achieve peace," Starmer added in a firm message to Putin.
The timing of this meeting is pertinent, as it comes after the Russian president halted the U.S. plan - also approved by Ukraine - for a 30-day ceasefire to the conflict, which, while he described it as a base "correct," also said that he needed to negotiate a series of conditions before giving final approval.
The leaders will also be informed of the progress made at the meeting of the Chiefs of Staff in Paris last Tuesday, as well as national efforts to allocate more budget for defense and military aid to Ukraine.