Ukraine: Germany stops short of pledging military commitment

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was planning to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon.

Asked by a reporter on the sidelines of a White House dinner with prominent US tech executives whether he would be speaking to Putin in the "near future," Trump responded:

"I will be, yeah. We're having a very good dialogue."

Earlier in the day, Trump had joined a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders from the so-called "Coalition of the Willing."

US President Donald Trump joined a phone call with European leaders on Thursday and insisted that Europe stop buying Russian oil, according to a White House official.

"President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war," the official said, claiming that "Russia received €1.1 billion ($1.28 billion) in fuel sales from the EU in one year."

Since most European countries stopped importing Russian crude in 2022 and Russian fuel in 2023, it was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to crude imports by Hungary and Slovakia, or imports of fuel made from Russian crude that is refined in third countries, such as India.

The European Commission has proposed legislation to phase out EU imports of Russian oil and gas entirely by 2028.

"President Trump questioned [the Europeans'] seriousness while they continue to fuel Russia's economy and war," the official said, adding that Trump also told them to "place economic pressure on China for funding Russia's war efforts."

During the meeting in Paris, 26 European leaders from the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" pledged to provide Ukraine with a post-war international support force of land, air and seaborne assets. President Trump has previously expressed US support, too, without making a specific pledge.

"The president made clear that this is not his war, and the Europeans must step up as well," the White House official said.

A Russian missile strike on northern Ukraine killed two people from the Danish-sponsored humanitarian demining mission on Thursday, local authorities said. 

"Today, near Chernihiv, Russian forces carried out an attack against personnel of the Danish Refugee Council demining mission," Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets posted on X. 

Lubinets described the strike as "yet another grave violation committed by the Russian Federation." 

The strike hit near the outskirts of the regional capital of Chernihiv, 125 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) later said in a statement that "the attack claimed the lives of two Ukrainian colleagues and left eight others injured."

It added that "at the time of the incident, DRC teams were conducting purely civilian humanitarian activities — working to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war."

UN Mine Action Service estimates that over 20% of Ukraine is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnance.

At a high-stakes summit in Paris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy secured security pledges from 26 countries, marking a major step toward post-war stability.

French President Emmanuel Macron revealed plans for a multinational "reassurance force" to support Ukraine after a peace deal.

Russia firmly rejects any foreign troop presence, while US backing remains uncertain, highlighting Europe's growing role in Ukraine's future defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his European allies for pledging to deploy troops to Ukraine as a post-war security guarantee.

"Twenty-six countries have agreed to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. I think that today, for the first time in a long time, this is the first such serious concrete step," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

European leaders took part in a hybrid "Coalition of the Willing" meeting and then held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy said that Trump is "very dissatisfied" that EU countries still buy Russian oil. 

"President Trump is very dissatisfied that Russia's oil is being purchased by Europe. Among others, there are two countries, we know that these are Hungary and Slovakia," said Zelenskyy. 

On Wednesday, Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia — a member of the European Union and NATO — attended a military parade in Beijing, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was also present.

Zelenskyy also posted on X afterward that various options on "how to push the situation toward real peace" were discussed with Trump. 

"The most important: applying the right pressure. Strong measures, particularly economic ones, to force an end to the war. The key to peace is depriving Russia's war machine of money and resources," said Zelenskyy. 

The German government has pledged to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine in a statement following a meeting with Kyiv's allies, known as the "coalition of the willing," in Paris.

The statement said that Germany, alongside other European countries, would make a "decisive contribution to strong security guarantees" once a negotiated solution has been reached in the war.

But Berlin stopped short of promising further military commitments.

"Germany will decide on a military engagement in due course when the framework is clear," the German spokesman said. "This refers to the kind and extent of a US engagement as well as the result of a negotiation process, amongst other factors."

Berlin said the "coalition of the willing" group is keen to increase the pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire.

"A ceasefire must be agreed upon," the statement said. "If the Russian side continues to play for time, Europe will increase the pressure of sanctions in order to improve the chances of a diplomatic solution."

Berlin said the coalition contacted Donald Trump by phone, expressing their "hope that the United States would continue to contribute substantially to the joint efforts to support Ukraine, to formulate security guarantees."

French President Emmanuel Macron said that 26 countries have pledged to contribute to Ukraine's security after any ceasefire or peace deal with Russia.

Speaking after a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" in Paris, Macron said that "we have today 26 countries who have formally committed — some others have not yet taken a position — to deploy as a 'reassurance force' troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air."

Macron added that "this force does not seek to wage any war on Russia."

The French president also stated that the US support for Ukraine's security guarantees will be finalized in the coming days.

"We held a call with President Trump," Macron told reporters. "The conclusions of this call are simple: in the coming days, we will finalize US support and these security guarantees. The United States, as I said, has been involved in every stage of the process."

Some 30 Western leaders are holding talks in Paris about protecting Ukraine after the war, with some joining the meeting in person and by video call.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is present in person for talks, with photos showing him seated at the head of the conference room table.

The summit brings together mostly European leaders, but also those from Australia, Canada and Japan.

The United States is not part of the coalition. The group was formed in part because of European concerns regarding Trump's pro-Russian statements earlier this year and a turbulent Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy in which Trump and US Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian leader.

Members of the coalition, however, have made clear that strong US backing would be essential for European security guarantees in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has recently stated that the US would support Ukraine and provide the coalition with some backing. 

 

Rounds and rounds of diplomacy to reach a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia have dominated headlines in recent months.

US President Donald Trump has pushed for direct talks between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders as the next stage of US efforts to see an end to the war in Ukraine that began with Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies for security assurances, or guarantees, to help protect his country in the case of a peace deal.

Read the full story on the timeline of discussions so far.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia did not have the authority to oppose the deployment of European troops to Ukraine as part of security assurances for Ukraine post-war.

"Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It's a sovereign country. It's not for [Russia] to decide," Rutte said. 

There is no confirmation that European troops would be deployed to Ukraine following a peace deal by any official yet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week outlined "three pillars" of security guarantees, saying assurances should include provisions for funding the Ukrainian army, Western protections modeled on NATO's "Article 5" clause, and sanctions against Russia. Article 5 sets out that an attack on one alliance member is an attack on all NATO members and requires them to assist the attacked country.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that his country would help provide security guarantees in any settlement with Russia, but he has said he would not put US troops on the ground in Ukraine.

Russia has made clear that it would not accept European troops on the ground as part of a post-war security plan in Ukraine.

"Russia will not discuss deeply unacceptable foreign intervention in Ukraine that undermines security," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at an economic summit in the country, according to state outlet TASS.

"These are not security guarantees for Ukraine, but a guarantee of insecurity on the European continent," Zakharova said.

Russia has pushed back on security guarantees, with European leaders having expressed concern over whether Russia was stalling peace talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that he was still seeking international recognition for the four Ukrainian regions Russian troops occupied illegally in 2022.

US President Donald Trump said he remains committed to pursuing a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine despite uncertainty over face-to-face talks between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I've been watching it, I've been seeing it, and I've been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelenskyy," Trump said in a phone interview with American broadcaster CBS News.

"Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet," he said. "But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done."

Putin said Wednesday at a news conference in Beijing that any direct peace talks between him and Zelenskyy would take place in Moscow. Ukrainian officials have rejected talks in the Russian capital, pointing out that at least seven other nations had offered to host talks. 

Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine upon entering office, even saying it would be over the first day he was president, and has personally tried to broker a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders but has failed to bring them closer together so far. 

The US leader has also grown frustrated with the lack of tangible progress on the war, telling CBS that: "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." 

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to kick off a meeting with the leaders of the so-called coalition of the willing to fine-tune security guarantees for Ukraine once hostilities end there.

Macron said preparations for security guarantees were completed at a meeting of defense ministers of the group, saying details were "extremely confidential."

This European-led initiative to defend Ukraine against Russian attacks following a peace deal between the neighboring countries or in a post-war Ukraine has gained momentum in recent months.

But European leaders have been clear that the initiative would not be possible without backing from the US government.

So far, European allies have discussed sending troops to Ukraine as part of security assurances, but the prospect has divided many European allies.

Russia has also said it would not accept NATO troops in Ukraine, and Trump has ruled out deploying US soldiers. Trump said his country may provide intelligence and air support.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that his country would be willing to provide more weapons to Ukraine. Merz is set to join the meeting via video conference this morning, along the British and Italian leaders.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after a meeting with the Estonian president in Brussels yesterday that he expected "tomorrow or soon after tomorrow to have clarity on what collectively we can deliver."

Rutte said the group was in the process of finalizing the last details at the level of military chiefs, defense ministers and heads of state and government.