Twenty-six nations are ready to take part in an international force as part of security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said after a summit meeting of Kyiv's allies.
Mr Macron said he, fellow European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a call with US President Donald Trump after their summit and US contributions to the guarantees would be finalised in the coming days.
The meeting of 35 leaders from the "coalition of the willing" - of mainly European countries - was intended to finalise security guarantees and ask Mr Trump for the backing that Europeans say would be vital to make such guarantees viable.
"As a form of reassurance, 26 countries have committed to deploying troops to Ukraine, where they will be present on land, on sea or in the air,"Mr Macron told reporters, standing alongside Mr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Mr Macron said security guarantees would involve above all commitments to rebuild and bolster Ukraine's armed forces.
Germany and other countries pledged they would be involved in that effort. But Berlin said it would only decide on a military commitment once conditions were clear, including the extent of US involvement in security guarantees.
Mr Macron did not say which countries had agreed to provide troops but France and Britain are among those that have indicated a willingness to take part in a force to reassure Kyiv and deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.
On his call with the coalition leaders, Mr Trump said Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that he said is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine, a White House official said.
"The president also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia's war efforts," the official said.
Mr Macron said the coalition and the United States had agreed to work more closely on future sanctions, notably on Russia's oil and gas sector, and on China.
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Danish aid workers killed in Russian strike
Frustration has been building in the West over what leaders say is Mr Putin's unwillingness to strike a deal to end the conflict.
A Russian rocket attack today on northern Ukraine killed two people from the Danish Refugee Council who were clearing mines in an area previously occupied by Moscow's forces, the local Ukrainian governor said.
The strike hit near the outskirts of the regional capital of Chernigiv, 125km north of Kyiv.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said the attack "underscores the brutality" of Russia's war in Ukraine.
She added: "Attacks on humanitarian missions are a grave violation of international law. The EU remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine and will hold those responsible accountable."
The death of Danish aid workers in a missile strike underscores the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) September 4, 2025
Attacks on humanitarian missions are a grave violation of international law.
The EU remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine and will hold those responsible accountable.
Months of talks
Members of the coalition have talked for months at various levels to define their prospective military support for Ukraine if and when there is a final truce - still a remote prospect.
But coalition governments have said any European military role would need its own US security guarantees as a "backstop".
Mr Trump has made no explicit commitment to go that far.
His special envoy Steve Witkoff met French, British, German, Italian and Ukrainian senior diplomats ahead of the summit, before briefly attending the opening session.
Two European officials said the coalition also wanted to highlight a lack of progress toward direct peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky since Mr Trump hosted Putin in August, and prod Mr Trump to raise pressure on Moscow now.
Having rolled out the red carpet in Alaska, Mr Trump yesterday accused Mr Putin of conspiring with China and North Korea after the three countries' leaders staged a show of unity in Beijing at a lavish commemoration of the end of World War Two.
Mr Putin told Kyiv that there was a chance to end the war in Ukraine via negotiations "if common sense prevails", an option he said he preferred, although he was ready to end it by force if that was the only way.
Mr Putin also ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO nations to Ukraine as part of a peace settlement.
But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte dismissed his objections.
"Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It's a sovereign country," he said at a conference in Prague before joining the Paris summit by video link.
"Russia has nothing to do with this," he said. "I think we really have to stop making Putin too powerful."
'Absolutely unacceptable' - Russian foreign ministry
Mr Rutte's comments come as Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia has no plans to discuss any potential foreign military deployment in Ukraine in any format, describing it as "absolutely unacceptable".
She was responding to remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on plans to send European troops to Ukraine, which was also rejected by Germany.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Mrs von der Leyen said Europe was drawing up "pretty precise plans" for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities.
Responding, Ms Zakharova said: "Russia is not going to discuss a foreign intervention in Ukraine in any form or format, that is fundamentally unacceptable and undermines any security.
"They are not guarantees of Ukraine's security, they are guarantees of danger to the European continent."
Mr Trump said that he remains committed to pursuing a deal between Russia and Ukraine despite mounting uncertainty over the prospect of face-to-face talks between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky.
"I've been watching it, I've been seeing it, and I've been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelensky," Mr Trump said in an interview with CBS News.
"Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done.
"I think we're going to get it all straightened out. Frankly, the Russia one, I thought, would have been on the easier side of the ones I've stopped, but it seems to be something that's a little bit more difficult than some of the others," he said.
'We've no wish to recuse ourselves from peacekeeping - Tánaiste
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has said Ireland would be willing to consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
However, he said that right now Mr Putin is not showing "the blindest bit of interest" in ending the war.
"We're very clear as a country, we've no wish to recuse ourselves from peacekeeping. We've such a proud tradition.
"If there is a peace agreement, Ireland, as a member of the Coalition of the Willing, will want to assist.
"You could see a scenario where if there was a peace agreement, and if part of that peace agreement resulted in peacekeepers being deployed, Ireland could, at that stage consider it, and certainly we're very willing to do that."
