Zelenskyy calls for European involvement in peace deal and post-war 'reassurance force'

We're wrapping our live updates as the "coalition of the willing" meeting has come to a close.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days as pressure is on for both Ukraine and Russia to finalize the U.S.-brokered peace deal.

Previous attempts were unsuccessful, but the U.S. delegation appears confident that talks are progressing — despite some "delicate" details White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said need to be ironed out.

"We're going to get there," Trump said at a White House event Tuesday.

European allies told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was on today's call, that they wanted Western countries to maintain pressure on Russia throughout the negotiations so that the peace deal does not turn into a form of "capitulation," as French President Emmanuel Macron has described it.

Macron said security guarantees are key to a lasting peace. Zelenskyy made a pitch to the coalition for a post-war "reassurance force" by European countries aimed at thwarting future Russian aggression.

Marco Rubio was on coalition call, was asked to maintain pressure on Russia

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, echoed Macron's comments about using Russian assets that have been frozen to provide Ukraine with financial support in a post on X following the call.

Von der Leyen said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on the call — a first for the coalition to have American participation.

She said that a "central point" in the peace negotiations is the "question of financing for Ukraine, including the use of immobilized Russian sovereign assets."

Sustaining pressure on Russia is key for European countries and allies as peace negotiations ramp up, von der Leyen said.

"We need strong transatlantic cooperation. Because it delivers," she wrote. "Waves of sanctions against the Russian economy … are shrinking the resources Russia has to wage its war of aggression."

Frozen Russian assets could be used to fund Ukraine: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after the virtual call of the "coalition of the willing" that France and other EU countries would be looking for a way to use frozen Russian assets to provide financial support to Ukraine in the coming days.

The coalition will also launch a working group led by France and Britain with close involvement from Turkey and the United States, to hammer out security guarantees for Ukraine once a peace deal has been reached, Macron said.

"This is essential for the Ukrainians. It is essential for negotiating a credible peace and for maintaining pressure on Russia," he said.

Zelenskyy needs to navigate Trump diplomacy

Zelenskyy says he is ready to discuss some of the most sensitive parts of the peace proposal with Trump.

Over the past few days, various rumours have circulated about a possible meeting between the two leaders, who have at times had a turbulent relationship. But nothing has been confirmed.

The stakes are high for Kyiv. It needs to have White House on its side — or at the very least, not acting against Ukraine's interest.

Zelenskyy tried to strike a diplomatic tone after the 28-point peace plan was leaked last week. But in a video address to the nation, said Ukraine faced a difficult choice: either abandon its national interest, or risk losing one of its most important partners.

The next day Trump railed in a post on social media saying that the leadership of Ukraine had expressed "zero gratitude" for U.S. efforts.

Trump and his team have called Zelenskyy ungrateful before, most notably during that now infamous meeting in the Oval Office. After some diplomatic manoeuvring, and a meeting at the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, the relationship improved.

Zelenskyy addresses the coalition

In a speech to the group of allies, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Zelenskyy told the group of allies that Ukraine is ready to move forward with the latest U.S. peace deal framework.

On the leftover sensitive details mentioned by the U.S., the Ukrainian president said European leaders should be involved in further talks and suggested Europe could deploy a "reassurance force" — though what that means is still unclear.

In the meantime, he called on his European allies to continue to support his country as it undergoes more attacks from Russia.

U.K. to send Ukraine air defence missiles

The "coalition of the willing" virtual meeting is underway. At the start of the meeting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom would be sending more air defence missiles to Ukraine.

Starmer didn't specify how many, but said they would be delivered in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.

The White House has weighed in

Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has written on X that the U.S. has made "tremendous progress" toward a peace deal with Ukraine and Russia, but that some points will require more discussions.

"There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States," Leavitt wrote.

What are the possible security guarantees?

Many of Ukraine’s allies have expressed concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan amounts to a 'wish list' for Russia. But Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College and Queen’s University, says Ukraine is in a weak position and that Trump’s deal presents a 'significant opportunity’ for both sides to find common ground in a way that meets everyone’s ‘reasonable objectives.'

As leaders from the coalition of the willing meet, security guarantees are at the top of the agenda. As Macron put it, the conditions for peace have to include "robust security guarantees," not "paper guarantees."

Under the U.S.'s 28-point peace plan backed by Russia, Ukraine would receive "reliable security guarantees." Not many other details were known, except that NATO would not have troops on the ground in Ukraine. However, European fighter jets would be stationed in neighbouring Poland.

If Russia invades Ukraine again, the proposal stipulates that there would be a "decisive and co-ordinated military response."

The EU's counter-proposal was never officially released, but a number of media outlets including Reuters obtained copies.

Europe's plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and stipulates that NATO will agree to not "permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime."

It also says that the U.S should provide a guarantee that mirrors NATO's Article 5, which considers an armed attack against one member to be an attack on all.

France planning voluntary military service program

Defence is also on Emmanuel Macron's mind today. The French president told reporters he will announce a plan to increase France's army numbers.

He didn't provide details on what that plan would entail, but sources were quoted in French media saying the country would be restoring military service on a voluntary basis.

According to the BBC, Macron told French reporters Tuesday that the announcement was meant to address the "hybrid confrontation" waged by Russia — but he stressed young French people would not be sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

"If we French want to protect ourselves ... we must show that we are not weak in the face of one power that threatens us the most," he said.

In Kyiv, it doesn't feel like peace is close

Olha Kononenko got a call in the middle of the night from her father saying that her apartment building in Kyiv had been hit in an attack. She was staying somewhere else that night but raced over. By the time she arrived, her unit was engulfed in flames.

On Tuesday, as she stood in front of the partially blackened building, she struggled to think about the prospects of peace.

"So many people have died, people from the military, some of our country’s best," Kononenko told a freelance videographer working for CBC News.

"It is impossible to put up with this."

Kononeko said the 28-point peace plan was essentially offering Ukrainians the same terrible conditions that were on the table at the beginning of the war.