Ukraine: How Macron and Starmer are taking on a leadership role.

A protection force with soldiers from "several European countries" could be stationed in Ukraine after a ceasefire. Emmanuel Macron said this on Thursday in Paris after the third meeting of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing". The French President is talking about a "Force de réassurance," a force to provide security on the territory of Ukraine, but at a distance from the front line. According to Macron, the force is to be stationed in "strategic locations" and is not intended to "replace" the Ukrainian armed forces.

From the French side, the meeting was considered a success simply because a total of 30 heads of state and government from EU and NATO countries came to Paris this time. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have established themselves as the informal leaders of this "Coalition of the Willing." The presence of a European protection force is intended as a deterrent should Russia break a ceasefire or want to attack again after a peace agreement, said Macron. Although he would like the support of the USA for such a European protection force, a scenario without Washington must also be prepared. The French President emphasized that he had spoken to Donald Trump on the phone before the meeting and would inform the POTUS about the talks again in the next few hours.

Some partners had asked Macron and him to take on a leading role, Starmer confirmed in Paris. The protection force will rely on the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces and send a clear signal to Putin that a deal will also be defended. Various options for future deployment plans are being considered. When asked about the timetable, the British Prime Minister said that they did not have months, but days and weeks.

In Paris, the acting Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was much more reserved: At this point in time, it is not yet clear whether and in what form such a peacekeeping force will exist. There were clear words on the talks in Riyadh about a possible ceasefire. Macron questioned whether peace negotiations were being held at all. The parallel talks between Washington and Moscow and between the USA and Ukraine led to three different press releases with different content.

Macron, Starmer and Scholz emphasized that supporting Ukraine with military equipment remains a priority. Macron had announced two billion euros in additional military aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a previous meeting on Wednesday evening. The Europeans also held out the prospect of disbursing the next tranches of windfall profits from the blocked Russian state bank funds more quickly. Ukraine is to use the money to buy artillery systems and ammunition.

There was a clear rejection of the Russian demand to lift sanctions against certain banks in particular. As long as there is no peace solution in sight, there can be no question of lifting the punitive measures, said Macron. The pressure on Russia must be maintained. Chancellor Scholz warned that easing the sanctions would be "a serious mistake."

A few hours before the meeting in Paris, Moscow threatened to see a possible presence of Western troops in Ukraine as a provocation. Moscow's view of Western military aid for Ukraine was summarized by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as follows: "London and Paris are pushing ahead with their idea of military intervention in Ukraine. This is all being masked as a peace initiative."

In Ukraine, a good 30 percent are against Western military backing of a ceasefire. This is the result of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in March. At the same time, however, the survey also showed that 62% of respondents in Ukraine reject a ceasefire without security guarantees.