Ukraine updates: Starmer seeks support in coalition call

French President Emmanuel Macron will receive newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Elisey Palace on Monday, his office announced.

Macron's office said that he and Carney will discuss "the war of aggression led by Russian against Ukraine" and other "international crises."

They were also set to touch on the "strategic partnership" between Canada and France.

Security analyst Marina Miron tells DW about the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves to shore up support for Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that it was not up to Moscow to decide on what foreign contingents could make up peacekeeping forces in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

"If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not," Macron said in comments published by several French regional dailies.

Macron and other European leaders have called for a presence of European troops on the ground in Ukraine if a ceasefire deal is reached with Moscow.

Russia has ruled out the presence of troops from allies of Kyiv in Europe, arguing that this would amount to NATO presence in the country.

Macron said that Paris could engage in direct talks with Russia once Ukraine and the US themselves launch formal ceasefire negotiations with Moscow.

Nearly 1 million people have fled to neighboring Poland from Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

DW takes a look at attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees in Polish society.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the question of territory Russia's war with Ukraineshould be tackled after a truce deal is reached.

Describing the issue as "complicated," he told journalists at a press conference in Kyiv it should be "discussed later at the negotiating table," after a ceasefire is in place.

Zelenskyy this week backed a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US, a step which led Washington to resume sending Kyiv arms deliveries and intelligence.

US representatives have since traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian officials about the potential ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that although he was in favor of a pause in fighting, there were still important details to be worked out.

The proposal comes as Russian forces continue to gain ground in many areas of the front in Ukraine.

Russia has demanded official recognition of its hold over four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine which it has claimed in their entirety but controls only in part, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

In his press briefing, Zelenskyy accused Putin of "lying about how a ceasefire is supposedly too complicated," adding that Moscow wanted to "improve their situation on the battlefield."

He said he was not aware of exactly what US and Russian officials had discussed in their talks, but stressed that Ukraine "will not recognize occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian."

Ukraine and many of its allies have accused Russia of not being seriously interested in reaching a ceasefire deal with Kyiv.

DW takes a look at Putin's objections to a potential ceasefire with Ukraine and what the Russian leader's negotiating strategy might be.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed a team of negotiators to participate in potential ceasefire talks, his office said.

The head of Zelenskyy's office, Andriy Yermak, has been named the chief negotiator.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Yermak's deputy, Pavlo Palisa, have also been selected for the delegation.

The four Ukrainian officials met with a US delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week, after which Kyiv agreed to Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Moscow.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said that Riga was ready to participate in the UK's proposed "coalition of the willing" to support Ukraine.

She said that Latvia was one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine and emphasized the need to strengthen the eastern flank of the NATO military alliance.

Silina made the comments following a virtual summit hosted by Britain.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the summit in order to put together a "coalition of the willing" that could take part in peacekeeping operations in Ukraine.

Following Saturday's UK-hosted summit on Ukraine, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Russia to pave the way to a just peace in Ukraine more than three years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

 "It is now up to Russia to put an end to its daily attacks against Ukrainian cities and civil infrastructure and to finally take the way of a lasting and just peace," Scholz said in a statement quoted by a spokesman.

Scholz welcomed Ukraine's readiness to sigh up to the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US earlier this week.

He also stressed the leading role played by US President Donald Trump in efforts to achieve "a possible truce and permanent peace for Ukraine."

The statement said that Germany stood "steadfastly" at the side of Ukraine.

According to the spokesman, Scholz affirmed that "Germany will continue to support Ukraine in close coordination with European and international partners for as long as it takes to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace."

Another package of US military aid has arrived in Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said, according to Poland's PAP news agency.

"There is complete unity in continuing support for Ukraine," he said during a press conference following a UK-led video summit on support for Kyiv.

He also confirmed the resumption of US intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Much military aid earmarked for Ukraine passes through a US military base in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow.

Kosiniak-Kamysz's statement comes after Washington suspended aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. The US then resumed both after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal following talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that her country is unlikely to send any troops to Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire.

"The prime minister confirmed that Italy intends to continue working with European and Western partners and with the United States to define credible and effective security guarantees," the Italian government said in a statement following a virtual summit hosted by Britain.

"National participation in a possible military force on the ground is not envisaged," the statement read.

Meloni's participation in the meeting had been in doubt amid Italy's previously stated misgivings about UK and French plans for sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has urged international allies taking part in a UK-hosted summit on Saturday to give "a clear position" on security guarantees, including about a potential deployment of foreign peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil with a US backstop.

"We need to continue working on the contingents that will form the foundation of Europe's future Armed Forces," Zelenskyy said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.  

"Peace will be more reliable with European contingents on the ground and the American side as a backstop," he added.

He also called for continued "pressure on Russia" in order for Moscow to accept a ceasefire agreement.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a "coalition of the willing" would help secure Ukraine "on the land, at sea and in the sky" if a peace deal with Russia goes through.

The United States has balked at providing Kyiv with specific security guarantees, insisting instead on a rare minerals deal that would give the US an economic interest in Ukraine.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Saturday it was crucial to maintain pressure on Russia to sign up to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine that has been put forward by the US.

"It is now important to continue to exert pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table," said Schoof in a post on X after a UK-hosted meeting with other world leaders aimed at shoring up support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Schoof said there was "broad agreement" at the meeting to continue military and financial support for Ukraine.
He said the ceasefire proposal, which Ukraine has supported, gave hope.

But he said Europe would also work hard on new sanctions on Russia. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a ceasefire deal put forward by the US, saying the Kremlin's "dithering and delay" and "continued barbaric attacks" on Ukraine belied the Russian leader's stated desire for peace.

He made the comments at the end of a virtual meeting with some 25 world leaders.

Starmer said the leaders had stressed "the need for strong monitoring arrangements to ensure that any violations of a deal are identified and called out," referring to a potential ceasefire agreement with Russia.

He also said an international military meeting would take place in the UK on Thursday "to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine's future security." 

Around 25 leaders — whom Starmer has dubbed "the coalition of the willing" in indirect recognition of the fact that some European states, notably Hungary, are ambivalent in their support for Ukraine — took part in the call.

They  included European partners such as French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand and officials from NATO and the European Commission.  

The United States was not represented at the meeting, which came as fears rise in Europe that the Trump administration is drawing back from its decadeslong commitment to the continent's security.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Russia should back a ceasefire deal with Ukraine that could lead to an enduring peace.

In a message posted on X, formerly Twitter, after a UK-hosted virtual meeting with other European leaders, von der Leyen said:  "We reiterate our support to Ukraine's agreement to a ceasefire. Now Russia has to show that it is willing to support a ceasefire leading to a just and lasting peace." 

She said until that happened, Europe would continue helping Ukraine militarily, while building up European defense through the "ReArm Europe" proposal she has put forward, which envisages European countries putting together a package of €800 billion ($874 billion) for military spending.