The meeting of the Ramstein-format coalition in Brussels comes amid growing uncertainty over U.S. support for Ukraine and efforts by European allies to close the gap as Kyiv resists Russia's ongoing invasion.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky would join the meeting, co-chaired by Germany and the U.K., through a video conference, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told journalists.
The U.K., France, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and another unnamed country stand ready to send their soldiers, while other leaders want to see a more detailed plan before making commitments, AFP reported.
Military planners in London and Paris believe such a deployment could discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching future offensives.
The U.K. and Norway are set to provide a 450 million pound ($585 million) military aid package to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on April 10.
Prince Harry visited the Superhumans Center, a facility in Lviv that provides prosthetics and rehabilitation to Ukrainians wounded by war. The trip was only announced after Harry had already left Ukraine.
"This is not a peacekeeping force that will separate the currently warring sides down the line of contact," U.K. Defense Minister John Healy said after a "coalition of the willing" meeting in Brussels on April 10.
A London court found the 48-year-old guilty of circumventing sanctions between February 2023 and January 2024 on six out of seven counts.
The Trump administration has ruled out U.S. participation in the so-called "reassurance force," but London and Paris sought to convince Washington to at least provide airpower, intelligence support, or border surveillance as a backstop to the coalition's efforts.
Revolut, the London-based digital bank, has suspended registration of new customers in Ukraine, a company press office told The Kyiv Independent on April 9.
The U.K.'s Defense Ministry also received credible intelligence suggesting that superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs could have been used for underwater reconnaissance, according to the Sunday Times.
"There is tangible progress and initial details on how the partner security contingent might be deployed," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The U.K. has begun floating plans to European allies to establish a joint European military fund for the purchase of military equipment and weaponry as a means to rearm Europe, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 2.
The Ramstein summit will take place on the next day after the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.
The U.K. is adding Russia to the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), a tool introduced in 2023 to protect the country against harmful covert activities.
Military representatives from the "coalition of the willing" will meet in Ukraine later this week to discuss peacekeeping troops and security guarantees.
Foreign ministers from Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Britain, and Poland, along with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, called on Russia to agree to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire on equal terms and with full implementation."
Strong statements made after a summit of European leaders in Paris on March 27 demonstrated two things — France and the U.K. are determined to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, but the plans are currently hostage to the whims of the Kremlin. "You cannot trust the Russians any further than you
The news came a day after a Paris summit where a number of European countries moved forward with plans to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia.
Several European countries agreed to send troops to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 27 at a summit of European leaders in Paris, which was also attended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
As French President Emmanuel Macron hosts another Ukraine-centric summit in Paris on March 27, the main question remains open — can Europe, and France as one of its leaders, keep embattled Kyiv afloat when the U.S. walks out? Addressing the nation on March 5, French President Emmanuel Macron said that
Over 30 countries have expressed willingness to contribute to the coalition's peacekeeping force, Starmer's spokesperson said on March 17.
"We were under pressure to come out very critically with, you know, flowery adjectives to describe how others felt,” Starmer told the New York Times.
The decree mandated that Ukrainian citizens "illegally" staying in Russia must obtain Russian documents of leave before Sept. 10. The intelligence added that Russia "erroneously and illegally" defines both occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as Crimea, as part of Russia.
The U.K. will host three more days of military planning sessions next week to prepare high-level plans on mobilizing a European-led "coalition of the willing" in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Office said on March 21.
Key developments on March 21: * Zelensky, Pavel meet in Kyiv to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine * Ukraine has brought back over 4,000 prisoners of war from Russian captivity since start of full-scale invasion, Zelensky says * Russia's Kavkazskaya oil facility still burning after two days, more explosions reported * Ukraine accuses
The RAF could reportedly deploy either Typhoon or U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to conduct air patrols, given their advanced air-to-air capabilities.
"We know that because it's happened before, and I am absolutely clear in my mind that it will happen again," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a meeting of military planners from 31 countries.
We are at a critical moment for Europe, with continental security hanging in the balance. In late February, the United Kingdom announced plans to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027. U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also recently suggested he is prepared to send British
The U.S. military has 247 military satellites and thousands of commercial satellites, providing an "unrivaled picture" of eastern Ukraine that European forces would struggle to replicate, the Times wrote.
Negotiations will focus on establishing the legal and financial framework to seize Russian assets, despite opposition from some EU member states, particularly Belgium and Germany.
"The UK expects more than 30 countries to be involved in the coalition of the willing," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said on March 17.
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